Electric Bike Brake Failure Lawsuit Alleges Defective Amazon E-Bike Caused Serious Crash

Previous e-bike lawsuits have alleged dangerous defects can cause various components to fail, leading to serious rider injuries.

A Virginia woman has filed a product defect lawsuit alleging she suffered severe injuries to her face and body after the hand brakes failed on a Luckeep e-bike sold by Amazon.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Kiara Dixon in Virginia Circuit Court on June 23, naming Amazon.com Services LLC, ZX Motors Incorporated, doing business as Luckeep, and LuckeepBike Inc. as defendants. The case was removed to the U.S. District Court of Virginia on July 20.

Dixon alleges Amazon and Luckeep knew or should have known that the e-bike was defective and unsafe for consumers. She also claims the companies failed to include a warning to test the hand brakes before using the e-bike.

E-Bike Safety Risks

Electric bicycles combine a traditional bike with a battery-powered motor that provides pedal assistance, helping riders travel farther, tackle steep terrain and maintain faster speeds with less effort. Most models allow users to adjust the level of motor assistance, while some, such as Class 2 e-bikes, also include a throttle that can power the bike without pedaling.

However, prior e-bike lawsuits have raised a number of safety concerns. A complaint filed against Amazon in April claimed an Oregon man suffered facial injuries after the wheel of a Ridstar Q20 e-bike fell off, throwing him violently to the ground.

In addition, a series of reports published in 2025 indicated the number of injuries from e-bike accidents have increased 49-fold since 2017. Many of those accidents resulted in head injuries with long-term health side effects.

Luckeep Folding Electric Bike Allegations

Dixon’s complaint indicates she purchased the Luckeep Folding Electric Bike on June 25, 2024 from Amazon for $900. When she used it for the first time on July 4, to travel down the street and around the block, the hand brakes allegedly failed to engage, causing her to crash.

Dixon claims she was unable to slow the e-bike when the hand brakes did not work. As a result, she crashed into the curb and was violently thrown from the bike, sustaining injuries to her face and body. These injuries are severe, permanent and disabling.

The lawsuit alleges the Luckeep e-bike has a defective braking system and is unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. Moreover, Dixon argues Luckeep and Amazon knew or should have known about the defective braking system. Both companies allegedly failed to test the brake system before selling the e-bike.

Dixon claims a warning should have been included with the bike to properly test the braking system before the first use. Since there was no warning, Dixon says she had no knowledge that the hand brakes would not engage and the e-bike posed a risk of her being severely injured.

“Defendants owed Plaintiff and other reasonably foreseeable users a duty to exercise reasonable care in the distribution of the e-bike, including a duty not to distribute or place into the stream of commerce an e-bike that the Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, was defective and unreasonably dangerous.”

— Kiara Dixon v. Amazon.com Services LLC et al.

The complaint raises allegations of negligence, failure to warn and inadequate instruction, and breach of implied merchantability. It is seeking compensation for pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish, medical expenses and loss of income.

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