Motorcycle and E-Scooter Accidents in Kuwait: Who Compensates the Injured?

Who pays when a motorcycle or e-scooter accident causes injury in Kuwait? Rider, custodian, insurer, rental operator and parental liability, the effect of the victim's own fault, and the steps and documents needed to claim.

Motorcycles and electric scooters have become a familiar sight across Kuwait. Delivery riders weave through residential blocks from morning to midnight, sport bikes gather on the highways and along the waterfront, and e-scooters have turned into everyday transport for students, workers and young people, and into a toy for children riding around their neighbourhoods and walkways. More two-wheelers on the road means more collisions, and with them a set of questions that used to be rare: who pays the pedestrian knocked down by a scooter on the pavement? Who pays the rider thrown off a motorcycle by a car turning at a junction? And what happens if the rider was a child, if the scooter was rented through an app, or if nothing about it was insured?

This article does not repeat the general rules on road accidents, which we covered in Road Accidents and Compensation in Kuwait, nor does it walk through the different types of motor insurance, which we explained in Vehicle Insurance in Kuwait: Compulsory and Comprehensive Cover and Claims. Instead, it focuses on what makes two-wheeler accidents different: riders are exposed and their injuries tend to be severe; responsibility can fall on several people at once (rider, owner, rental operator, parents, employer); insurance cover for some of these vehicles may be uncertain; and the injured person's own conduct often plays a part in reducing the award.

We set out the legal basis for each type of liability, distinguish between a victim who was riding and one who was walking, explain when compulsory insurance is a source of compensation and when it is not, then turn to rented scooters and underage riders. We finish with practical steps, a document checklist, three illustrative scenarios and frequently asked questions. The aim is simple: from the first hour after the accident, the injured person and their family should know whom to pursue and what evidence they will need.

The Short Answer

Depending on the facts, a person injured in a motorcycle or e-scooter accident may recover compensation from one or more of the following: the negligent rider or driver, as the person who caused the harm; the custodian of the vehicle (usually the owner, or whoever had actual control of it) under the rules on liability for things requiring special care; the insurer, where the vehicle at fault carries compulsory third-party cover that responds to the incident; the employer, where a delivery rider caused the accident while working; and the person responsible for supervising a minor, typically a parent, where the rider was a child.

A pedestrian victim is usually in the stronger legal position: they were not operating any vehicle, and against the custodian they generally need only prove the harm and the vehicle's involvement in causing it. A rider who is injured, by contrast, recovers according to how much of the fault lies with the other party, and the award may be reduced if the rider's own fault contributed to the accident or made the injuries worse.

Whatever the scenario: report the accident at once, obtain the traffic report or police record, document the injury medically from day one, and do not sign any release or waiver until your condition has stabilised and you understand the true extent of the harm. The claim can then be brought either as a civil claim joined to the criminal proceedings, or as a separate civil action against every party who may be liable.

The Legal Framework

Kuwait has no single statute dedicated to motorcycle or scooter accidents. The rules are spread across several pieces of legislation:

The Civil Code (Decree-Law No. 67 of 1980): the main source of compensation rules. It contains fault-based liability for one's own acts; liability for the acts of others (those responsible for supervising minors, and principals for their agents or employees); liability of the custodian of things whose custody requires special care, which includes vehicles; the rules on diya (blood money) for bodily injury; and the power to reduce compensation where the victim shared in the fault.
The Traffic Law (Decree-Law No. 67 of 1976), its executive regulations and implementing decisions: governs vehicle licensing and driving, including motorcycles; requires the appropriate driving licence; makes third-party insurance a condition of vehicle registration; and sets the rules of the road whose breach is evidence of fault. The competent authorities also issue regulatory decisions on where and how newer means of transport such as e-scooters may be used.
The Insurance Regulation Law (No. 125 of 2019): regulates insurance companies and their supervision, and is the reference point for verifying a policy and for knowing where complaints against insurers are handled.
The Penal Code (No. 16 of 1960) and the Criminal Procedure Law (No. 17 of 1960): govern the criminal side, such as causing injury or death by negligence, and allow the victim to bring a civil claim before the criminal court.
The Juveniles Law (No. 111 of 2015) and the Child Rights Law (No. 21 of 2015): govern the criminal accountability of a juvenile who was the rider, and underline the family's duty to care for and protect children from danger.
The Consumer Protection Law (No. 39 of 2014): becomes relevant where the scooter or motorcycle was rented or bought from a trader and a defect or safety failure caused the accident.
The Civil and Commercial Procedure Law (No. 38 of 1980) and the Law of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Matters (No. 39 of 1980): govern filing the compensation claim, appointing experts, methods of proof and enforcement against the liable party's assets.

We explained the general rules on custodian liability in Liability for Things under the Kuwaiti Civil Code: Custodian and Owner, and the liability of parents and employers in Liability for the Acts of Others under Kuwaiti Law. What follows applies those rules to two-wheeled vehicles.

The Substantive Rules

The rider's liability for personal fault

The first and most obvious basis is that anyone whose fault causes harm to another must compensate it. A motorcyclist or e-scooter rider, like a car driver, must follow the rules of the road: ride at a suitable speed, never ride against traffic, avoid dangerous lane-splitting, give way to pedestrians, and stay off pavements and crossings unless use there is permitted. Any breach of these rules can serve as evidence of fault if it is causally linked to the accident.

Equally, a car driver who hits a motorcycle or scooter is judged by the same standard. Opening a door without checking the mirror, turning without making sure the lane is clear, following too closely, or simply failing to notice a small vehicle are all common faults in this type of collision. Fault is frequently shared, which shows up in the traffic report and the percentage of fault it assigns. We explained how that percentage is set and how to challenge it in The Traffic Report and Fault Percentage in Accidents.

Under this fault-based route the burden of proof lies on the victim, which is why early evidence matters so much: the traffic report, photographs of the scene, camera footage, witness statements and a technical report on the condition of the vehicles.

The custodian's liability (owner or person in actual control)

The Kuwaiti Civil Code imposes a special liability on whoever has custody of a thing whose custody requires special care, and vehicles are a leading example. The key feature is that the victim does not have to prove fault by the custodian; it is enough to show that the harm was caused by the thing, meaning the vehicle actively played a part in causing it. The custodian generally escapes liability only by proving an external cause: force majeure, a sudden event, the victim's own fault, or the fault of a third party, where that was what actually caused the harm.

The custodian is the person with actual control over the vehicle, using, directing and supervising it on their own account. Ordinarily that is the owner, but custody can pass to someone else. A hirer may become the custodian for the duration of the rental; a thief becomes the de facto custodian after the theft. An employee, such as a delivery rider using the employer's motorcycle, usually does not become custodian, because they use it on the employer's account rather than their own. Identifying the custodian is a question of fact for the trial court.

Applying this rule to e-scooters raises a debate: is a scooter a "thing requiring special care"? In practice there is a strong argument that a motor-driven scooter travelling at a meaningful speed among people falls within the concept because of the danger it poses, but the final call belongs to the trial court, based on the device's specifications and how it was being used. We do not settle the point here. Where the custodian rule is found not to apply, the victim can still rely on ordinary fault-based liability.

Diya and compensation for bodily injury

The Kuwaiti Civil Code adopts the system of diya for bodily injury, with a schedule setting out what is due for the loss of limbs or their function and for various injuries. These rules are distinct from ordinary civil damages. Depending on the case, the court may add compensation for items that diya does not cover, such as medical expenses, lost earnings, moral damage and harm suffered by the victim's family. We discussed these heads of loss in Civil Liability for Bodily Injury and Compensation in Kuwait.

Two-wheeler accidents produce a recognisable pattern of injuries: fractured limbs, head and facial injuries, spinal injuries and friction burns from the asphalt. These injuries often evolve after the accident, and the true level of permanent disability may only become clear after months of treatment. The loss should therefore not be valued, and no settlement accepted, until the medical position has stabilised and the disability percentage has been finally assessed.

Some finer questions arise in the relationship between diya and civil damages: whether and how far they can be combined, how the victim's own fault affects the diya, and whether diya is owed where fault has not been clearly established. Views differ on these points in practice, and they are decided by the competent court on the facts of each case, which is why we recommend reviewing them with a specialist lawyer before framing the claims in the lawsuit.

Riding versus walking: why the victim's position matters

A pedestrian is the most vulnerable road user and usually has the strongest legal position. If a scooter hits them on the pavement or a walkway, or a motorcycle hits them while crossing, they can pursue the rider for fault, the custodian without proving fault, and the insurer if the vehicle was insured and the cover responds. The pedestrian's own conduct is held against them only where fault on their part is actually proven, for example suddenly crossing away from a designated crossing, and that fault contributed to the accident.

An injured rider is in a different position. If the rider was in control and was hit by a car, they can pursue the car driver, its custodian and its insurer, but their own conduct is weighed in the balance: speed, jumping a signal, using the wrong lane, not wearing a helmet, or taking a scooter onto a highway. A pillion passenger did not operate the vehicle, so in principle they can pursue both their own rider and the other party where both were at fault, subject to any fault attributed to them, such as agreeing to ride with an unlicensed or impaired rider, or riding without a helmet.

A practical point: many e-scooters are built for one person only. Two people riding one scooter is in itself risky behaviour that a court may take into account when apportioning fault.

Contributory fault and its effect on the award

The Civil Code allows the judge to reduce compensation, or to award none, where the victim's own fault contributed to the harm or aggravated it. This rule is applied frequently in two-wheeler cases because the rider's own behaviour is so often part of the story.

Conduct commonly raised against an injured rider includes speeding, riding against traffic, weaving between cars in congestion, running red lights, riding at night without lights, riding without a licence where one is required, and using a phone while riding. Not wearing a helmet is a subtler issue. It rarely causes the accident itself, but it may make head injuries far worse. Two approaches appear in practice: one treats the failure to wear a helmet as fault contributing to the harm, justifying a reduction for injuries the helmet would have prevented or lessened; the other holds that what matters is the cause of the accident, not the severity of its consequences. The question is left to the court's assessment in light of the medical evidence and the circumstances.

The effect of shared fault is that compensation is divided according to each party's share as the court assesses it. The court is not bound by the percentage in the traffic report; it may adopt it, reject it or appoint an expert. That is why challenging an unfair fault percentage early can make a real difference to the final result.

Compulsory insurance: when does it pay and when does it not?

Third-party insurance is a condition of registering the vehicles that the Traffic Law requires to be registered, including motorcycles. Its purpose is to ensure that third parties harmed by the use of the insured vehicle are compensated in accordance with the policy terms. It is settled practice that the victim may claim directly against the insurer, within the limits of the cover, alongside the claim against the person responsible.

Whether insurance actually responds in a two-wheeler case depends on several questions that can only be answered by looking at the facts and the policy:

Was the vehicle at fault registered and insured at all? A registered motorcycle should carry valid cover. Unregistered motorcycles, and e-scooters that are not treated as registrable vehicles, may carry no insurance whatsoever, leaving the victim to pursue the liable persons directly.
Is the victim a "third party" within the meaning of the policy? Third-party cover does not normally extend to the injuries of the driver of the insured vehicle, because they are not a third party in relation to their own vehicle. Whether a pillion passenger is covered depends on the policy wording and the rules governing it, which must be checked in each case.
Is the insurer relying on an exclusion? For example, riding without a valid licence, under the influence, or using the vehicle outside its licensed purpose. In many cases such exclusions do not defeat the victim's claim against the insurer but instead give the insurer a right of recovery against its own policyholder after paying; this, however, depends on the policy wording and the regulatory framework in force.
Does the victim have comprehensive cover? If the victim's own vehicle (a car, for instance) is comprehensively insured, their policy may pay for vehicle damage, but it usually does not extend to the driver's bodily injuries unless it includes an add-on.

Because the registration and compulsory insurance status of e-scooters specifically depends on their specifications and on the regulatory decisions in force at the time of the accident, we neither assume that a given scooter is insured nor assume that it is not. Our advice is to ask the traffic authorities about the status of the vehicle involved immediately after the accident. If there turns out to be no insurance, the path is the one described in Accidents with an Uninsured Vehicle or a Hit-and-Run Driver in Kuwait.

Scooters rented through apps or shops

Pay-by-the-minute and hourly scooter rentals have spread quickly, whether through smartphone apps or through kiosks at leisure areas and waterfronts. These arrangements involve three distinct relationships that must be kept apart:

The hirer and the injured third party: if the hirer hits a pedestrian or damages property, they are liable for their own fault. The prevailing view is that actual custody passes to the hirer while they are using the scooter, because they steer and control it. That transfer is not automatic in every case, however; the court weighs how much control the operator retains, for example by limiting speed through the app or restricting where the scooter can be ridden.
The operator and the injured third party: the operator remains liable if the accident was caused by a defect or poor maintenance, such as failed brakes, loose handlebars or a battery fault, or if it rented the scooter to someone it should have known was unfit to ride, such as a young child or an obviously impaired person. Whether the operator remains custodian of the scooter's technical structure even while it is being ridden is a disputed question left to the court.
The hirer and the operator: this relationship is governed by the rental contract and terms of use. A hirer injured because of a defect can pursue the operator under the contractual duty to supply a safe vehicle and under the rights the Consumer Protection Law grants against service providers. Terms accepted with a single tap, such as a blanket exclusion of the operator's liability, do not always protect the operator, particularly in cases of fraud, gross negligence or bodily injury; their effect is for the court to assess.

App data is among the most valuable evidence in these cases: the trip log, speed, location, start and end times, and the identity of the account holder. A request to preserve it should be made early. The issues are similar to those discussed in Accidents in a Rented Car in Kuwait, with one key difference: a rental car is normally registered and insured, while a rented scooter may not be.

Underage riders and parental liability

Many scooter accidents, and some involving small motorcycles, involve children and teenagers. Several layers of liability can then apply:

Liability of the supervisor: the Civil Code makes whoever is obliged to supervise a person because of their minority liable for harm that person causes to others. This liability rests on presumed fault in supervision or upbringing. A father, mother or other supervisor may rebut it by proving that they properly performed the duty of supervision, or that the harm would have occurred anyway. The court decides, taking into account the child's age, how dangerous the vehicle was, and whether the child was allowed to ride it on public roads.
Liability of the minor personally: a minor capable of discernment is liable for their own fault, and judgment can be enforced against any assets they have. The Civil Code contains special provisions for those lacking discernment which may, in certain circumstances, allow an award against them where there is no one else answerable or compensation cannot be obtained from that person; this is a matter for the judge.
Liability of the custodian: if the motorcycle or scooter belongs to a parent or someone else, that person may also be liable as custodian, in addition to the supervision liability.
The criminal side: if the accident caused injury or death, any criminal accountability of the juvenile is governed by the Juveniles Law, its special procedures and its welfare-oriented measures. We covered this in The Juveniles Law in Kuwait: Protection, Rehabilitation and Criminal Responsibility.

Allowing a child to ride a motorcycle on a public road without a licence may itself be an offence by whoever handed over the vehicle. It also weakens the family's ability to rebut supervision liability, and may give the insurer, if there is one, a right of recovery against the policyholder.

Where the injured person is a minor, the claim is brought in the child's name through their legal guardian. Settling the child's claim, waiving it or receiving the compensation may require approval or oversight by the authority responsible for minors' affairs, depending on the circumstances. We explained the rules on guardianship over a minor's property in Guardianship, Tutorship and Curatorship under Kuwaiti Law.

Delivery riders and employer liability

Delivery motorcycle accidents have a special feature: the rider usually works for a company, restaurant or platform, and the accident happens in the course of that work. A principal is liable for harm caused by its agent where the act occurred in the performance of the job or because of it. This matters in practice because the principal is usually better able to pay than the rider.

A recurring question is the nature of the relationship between the rider and the business: is the rider a subordinate working under its direction and supervision, or an independent contractor working on their own account? Subordination turns on actual authority to direct and supervise, not on the label in the contract. That assessment is factual and varies from case to case, and we do not resolve it in general terms here.

If the delivery rider is the one injured at work, they may have additional rights alongside the claim against whoever caused the accident, such as those relating to work injuries under the Private Sector Labour Law. That requires a careful look at their employment status.

The criminal case and its link to compensation

An accident causing injury or death usually leads to an investigation for negligent injury or negligent homicide, alongside any traffic offences. The victim may join a civil claim to the criminal case, so that compensation is considered together with the prosecution, or file a separate civil action. A final criminal judgment is binding on the civil court on the matters it necessarily decided. Leaving the scene of an accident is also a separate offence, discussed in Leaving the Scene of an Accident under Kuwaiti Law.

Civil claims are subject to limitation periods, and those periods can be affected by the existence of criminal proceedings. Do not delay action on the ground that you are waiting for a full recovery; it is better to have a lawyer review the applicable periods early.

Principles of the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation has settled a number of principles relevant to these accidents. We state them in general terms:

The liability of the custodian of a thing requiring special care rests on a presumption of fault that cannot be rebutted by proof of care; it is displaced only by proof that the harm resulted from an external cause for which the custodian was not responsible.
Custody giving rise to liability means actual control over the thing in use, direction and supervision on the custodian's own account, and identifying the custodian is a question of fact for the trial court, provided its reasoning is sound.
Where the victim's fault contributed to the harm, compensation may be reduced in proportion to the victim's share, and assessing the shares of fault falls within the trial court's discretion.
The liability of a person responsible for supervision rests on presumed fault in the duty of supervision, which that person may rebut by proving that the duty was performed or that the harm would inevitably have occurred.
A principal's liability for its agent arises where the harmful act occurred in the performance of the job or because of it, and the test of subordination is actual authority to supervise and direct.
Traffic reports and expert opinions are items of evidence subject to the trial court's assessment; it may adopt them in whole or in part, or set them aside for sound reasons.
A final criminal judgment is binding on the civil court as to matters it necessarily decided concerning the occurrence of the act and its attribution to the defendant.

A note on method: we have deliberately not cited appeal numbers, judgment dates or article numbers. Accurate citation requires going back to the full text of each judgment and its facts, and some of these principles are applied with different nuances depending on the circumstances. They are presented here in their settled general form; when preparing a case, the lawyer refers to the judgments that match its facts.

Practical Steps and Documents

This is the sequence we recommend after a motorcycle or e-scooter accident:

Medical help first: do not move if you feel neck or back pain; call an ambulance. Two-wheeler injuries are often worse than they look, and the hospital report issued on the day of the accident is the strongest proof that the injury was caused by it.
Report the accident: call emergency services and ask for traffic police or a patrol. Make sure an accident report is issued, or a police record is opened at the station if the accident happened somewhere traffic police do not cover, such as a walkway or open square. Do not settle for a verbal arrangement at the scene.
Document the scene: photograph the location, the vehicles, skid and scrape marks, the direction of travel, signals, number plates where they exist, and visible injuries. If the scooter was rented, photograph its code or identification number.
Witnesses and cameras: take witnesses' names and phone numbers, identify nearby cameras (shops, malls, petrol stations, traffic cameras) and ask for the footage to be preserved quickly before it is overwritten.
The other party's details: name, civil ID number, phone number, plate number if any, insurer, employer if a delivery rider, and the guardian's details if the rider is a minor.
Medical follow-up: keep every report, scan, invoice and sick-leave certificate; continue treatment until your condition stabilises; and ask for the disability percentage to be assessed once treatment ends, whether by the competent medical body or by forensic medicine depending on the route the case takes.
Challenge an unfair fault finding: if the traffic report assigns you an unfair share of fault, object through the proper channel without delay and submit your photographs and footage.
Notify the insurer: if the vehicle at fault is insured, submit the claim with supporting documents. Do not sign a final release before your medical condition has stabilised and your lawyer has reviewed it.
Notify the operator or employer: for a rented scooter or delivery rider, send a written notice asking them to preserve trip data or work records for the time of the accident.
The lawsuit: decide with your lawyer between a civil claim within the criminal case and a separate civil action, and bring it against all potentially liable parties: the rider, the custodian, the insurer, the employer, the supervising parent and the rental operator, as the case may be.

Documents usually required: the traffic report or police record and sketch; initial medical reports, follow-up reports and the disability assessment; invoices for treatment, medication and physiotherapy; sick-leave certificates and proof of pre-accident income; photographs of the accident and injuries; camera footage; witness details; the insurance policy of the vehicle at fault, if any; the rental contract or trip receipt for a rented scooter; proof of guardianship where the victim is a minor; and proof of the employment relationship where a delivery rider is involved.

Illustrative Scenarios

Scenario One: A pedestrian hit on a walkway by a teenager on a scooter

A woman walking along a residential walkway is struck by an e-scooter ridden fast by a fifteen-year-old. She falls and breaks her wrist. The scooter belongs to the boy's father and is neither registered nor insured. With no insurer to claim against, the claim is directed at the father as the person responsible for supervision, at the father again as owner and possibly custodian of the scooter, and at the boy himself as a minor capable of discernment who is liable for his own fault. The father may try to rebut the supervision liability, but letting his son ride a fast scooter through an area crowded with pedestrians weakens that defence. Separately, a juvenile file may be opened for negligent injury and handled under the Juveniles Law.

Scenario Two: A delivery rider hit by a car at a junction

A delivery rider crosses a junction on a green light when a car turns left across his path and knocks him down, breaking his leg. The traffic report puts most of the fault on the car driver and a small share on the rider for his speed. The rider claims against the car driver and the car's insurer for his injuries, and his award is reduced by whatever share of fault the court confirms. He may also have work-injury rights against his employer if he is its employee. Had he been the one to hit a pedestrian on his route, the pedestrian could have claimed against him, against his employer as principal, and against the motorcycle's insurer.

Scenario Three: A rented scooter whose brakes fail

A young man rents a scooter through an app on the waterfront. Going down a slope, the brakes fail and he collides with a child; he is injured too. The child's guardian can claim against the young man as rider and custodian at the time of the accident, and against the rental operator if the failure is traced to poor maintenance. The young man can defend himself by showing that the technical defect caused the collision, and can claim against the operator for his own injuries under the contract and the Consumer Protection Law. App data and maintenance records will be decisive, and the court may appoint a technical expert. The liability exclusion in the terms of use does not settle the dispute on its own.

Quick Comparison

Victim is a pedestrian: claims against the rider, the custodian and any insurer; against the custodian, proving the vehicle's involvement is generally enough; the award is reduced only for proven fault on the pedestrian's part.
Victim is the rider: claims against the other party at fault and its insurer; the rider's own fault is weighed; the rider's own third-party cover does not pay for the rider's injuries.
Victim is a pillion passenger: claims against their own rider and the other party, subject to any fault attributed to them; cover depends on the policy wording.
Registered, insured motorcycle: third-party insurance is a primary source of compensation, and a direct claim against the insurer is available within the policy limits.
Unregistered or uninsured scooter: claims lie against the liable persons directly (rider, custodian, supervising parent), with protective attachment of their assets where needed.
Rented scooter: the hirer is liable for their own fault and is usually the custodian; the operator answers for defects and maintenance; exclusion clauses are not decisive on their own.
Underage rider: supervision liability based on rebuttable presumed fault, personal liability of a minor capable of discernment, and the criminal side handled by the juvenile authorities.
Delivery rider: the principal is liable where subordination exists and the accident happened during or because of the work, which is often the most effective route to actual payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an e-scooter treated like a car when it comes to accident liability?

For civil compensation, broadly yes: whoever causes harm through fault must compensate it, whatever the vehicle. For registration and compulsory insurance, the position depends on the scooter's specifications and the regulations in force, so you cannot assume it is insured like a car. Whether the custodian rule applies to it is for the court to decide.

A scooter hit me on the pavement and it had no insurance. Who compensates me?

You can claim against the rider for fault, the owner or custodian, the parents if the rider was a minor, and the rental operator if the scooter was rented and a defect caused the accident. The claim can be joined to the criminal case or filed as a separate civil action, and protective attachment of the liable person's assets can be considered where needed.

Does compulsory insurance cover the motorcyclist's own injuries?

Third-party insurance covers the policyholder's liability to others and does not normally cover the injuries of the rider of the insured vehicle. If another party caused the rider's injuries, the rider claims against that party and its insurer. If the rider alone was at fault, cover is usually available only through personal or additional insurance.

Will my compensation be reduced because I was not wearing a helmet?

It may be. Not wearing a helmet rarely causes the accident, but it can make head injuries more serious. There are two approaches in practice to its effect on the award, and the matter is left to the court in light of the medical reports, the nature of the injury and its connection to the missing helmet.

My child hit someone with a scooter. Am I liable?

In principle yes, as the person responsible for supervision, on the basis of presumed fault in supervision. You may try to rebut it by proving that you properly supervised the child or that the harm would have happened anyway. The court decides, looking at the child's age, the type of vehicle and where it was being used.

I rented a scooter through an app and caused an accident. Is the company liable?

You are primarily liable for your own fault and may be treated as the scooter's custodian while using it. The operator may be liable, however, if the accident resulted from a technical defect or poor maintenance, and that may also be a defence for you against the injured person. Electronic terms of use do not on their own decide who is liable.

Is diya payable in motorcycle and scooter accidents?

The Kuwaiti Civil Code applies the diya system to bodily injury according to the schedule of diya, and this applies to injuries from these accidents as it does to others. Practical questions arise about how diya relates to civil damages and how the victim's own fault affects it; the court decides them on the facts of each case.

When should I file the compensation claim?

Choose your route early, while documenting and following up the injury until it stabilises. Compensation claims are subject to limitation periods, which may be affected by criminal proceedings, so do not put off seeing a lawyer while you wait for treatment to end.

Should I accept the settlement the insurer offers?

Do not sign a final release before your medical condition has stabilised and the disability percentage is known, because a release may bar you from claiming for consequences that appear later. Have any offer reviewed by a lawyer and compared with what a court is likely to award.

I am a delivery rider injured at work. Do I have rights beyond suing the other driver?

You may have work-injury rights against your employer, depending on whether you are an employee or an independent contractor. Those rights do not, in principle, prevent you from claiming against the person who caused the accident for any loss not already compensated, but combining the two needs careful analysis.

What if the motorcyclist rode off after hitting me?

Report it immediately, write down every detail you can about the motorcycle and rider, and ask for nearby camera footage to be preserved. Leaving the scene is a separate offence, and identifying the rider is the first step towards any claim. If the rider cannot be identified, alternative sources of recovery have to be assessed on the facts.

Can I sue someone who rented a scooter to a young child?

Yes, the operator may be liable if it rented the vehicle to someone it should have known was unfit to ride, such as a young child, and that failure contributed to the accident. This sits alongside the liability of whoever was responsible for supervising the child, and the court decides how liability is shared between them.

Conclusion

Motorcycle and e-scooter accidents are not simply smaller versions of car accidents. The injuries are usually more severe, the parties involved are more varied, and insurance may be firmly in place, as with a registered motorcycle, or entirely absent, as with many scooters. So the answer to "who compensates the injured person?" is rarely a single name. It is a map of liability: the rider, the custodian, the insurer, the employer, the supervising parent and the rental operator.

A successful claim depends on two things. First, it must be directed at everyone who may be liable, so that the right to compensation is not lost because the rider cannot pay or there is no insurance. Second, it must rest on early, coherent evidence: the traffic report, contemporaneous medical records, footage, app data and witness statements. Every day that passes without documentation is a day in which evidence may be lost.

Equally, anyone who rides a motorcycle or scooter, lets their child ride one, or rents them out to the public should understand the scale of the responsibility involved. Following the rules of the road, wearing a helmet, keeping children off public roads and maintaining rental fleets are not merely safety tips; they are also the best way to avoid civil and criminal liability that can be serious.

Legal Notice

This article provides general legal information about Kuwaiti law. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The rules described are subject to legislative and regulatory change and to judicial application on the facts of each case, particularly with regard to the regulation of e-scooters and the terms of insurance policies.

If you or a family member have been injured in a motorcycle or e-scooter accident, or a claim has been made against you arising from one, the team at Yumnaak Law Firm can identify every liable party, follow up the traffic and medical reports, negotiate with insurers, and bring and pursue the compensation claim through to enforcement. Get in touch through our Contact Us page or book an appointment to review your case at our office.