A 23-year-old man who was critically injured in an e-scooter accident in Auckland on Monday has died, police say.
The man had been in a critical condition in Auckland City Hospital since the incident involving a Lime e-scooter about 6.15pm on Monday on Westhaven Dr, St Mary's Bay.
On Monday, police were notified of a person being injured during an incident, and on Friday evening confirmed the man had died.
"Our thoughts are with the man's family at this time," a spokesperson said.
Lime spokeswoman Lauren Mentjox confirmed the e-scooter being ridden belonged to Lime.
"The entire Lime team is deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of one of our riders.
"Our thoughts and sympathies are with the rider's family and loved ones during this extremely difficult time."
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Lime would work with authorities during the investigation and took rider safety "very seriously", she said.
A recent study showed e-scooter riders are arriving at hospitals with injuries similar to those sustained in car accidents or falls from heights.
Researchers of the paper The Cost of Electric-Scooter Related Orthopaedic Surgery, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, found the popularity of e-scooters was creating an increasing burden on taxpayers and healthcare systems.
The study only looked at e-scooter injuries requiring surgery at Auckland City Hospital over a 19-week period from October 15, 2018, to February 22, 2019. It found 21 patients needed 23 operations.
Those surgeries cost a total of $404,925 and resulted in increased waiting times for other serious operations.
Injuries seen in the patients recorded in the study ranged from ankle, knee and leg breaks to dislocations and head fractures.
ACC claims for e-scooter injuries topped $4.3 million with more than 2000 claims lodged from October 2018 to July 2019.
During that period, Auckland saw the most claims with 1271, totalling $1,767,480.
The top injuries were to the knee, hand and wrist, and arm with a loss of balance as the main cause of injuries.
