Amazon Electric Bike Lawsuit Claims Malfunction Resulted in Facial, Dental Injuries

According to the lawsuit, Amazon continued to sell the bike despite consumer product reviews warning of serious and potentially dangerous design problems.

An Oregon man’s product liability lawsuit alleges he suffered severe injuries to his face after the front wheel of a Ridstar Q20 electric bicycle fell off, throwing him violently to the ground.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Garry Cunanan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on April 7, naming Amazon.com Services LLC as the sole defendant.

Cunanan filed the claim after suffering severe and permanent facial and dental injuries when the e-bike’s front wheel allegedly detached during normal use. He asserts that Amazon failed to address known safety defects or remove the product from sale despite prior warnings from consumers about similar malfunctions.

E-Bike Safety Concerns

An electric bike is similar in design to a traditional pedal powered bike, but features an electric motor and battery to offer power-assisted pedaling. E-bikes typically can reach speeds of 20 to 28 mph, compared to speeds of 10 to 12 mph on regular bikes.

Some electric bikes, like Class 2 e-bikes, even feature a throttle that can propel the bike without pedaling. As a result, e-bike accidents often resemble motorcycle crashes more than traditional bicycle accidents because of the speeds at which the vehicles can travel.

The popularity and use of e-bikes has surged across the country over the past decade. While more consumers are opting to purchase e-bikes, major operators like Lime and Bird have added thousands of rental e-bikes to their fleets in cities across the U.S. However, as a side effect of the growing popularity, accidents and injuries have increased 49-fold since 2017.

At the same time, the number of lawsuits filed against e-bike makers and sellers have also increased in recent years. Last year, a lawsuit was filed against Amazon, alleging that an e-bike’s design defects caused the product to collapse during use, permanently paralyzing the rider and placing him in a coma.

Amazon E-Bike Lawsuit

Cunanan’s lawsuit alleges an e-bike lost its wheel during a test ride in 2025, throwing him violently from the bike to the pavement. Cunanan suffered severe injuries, including facial fractures, disfigurement, dental deformity and a deformity to his jaw bone.

The lawsuit indicates Cunanan assembled the Ridstar Q20 e-bike, sold on Amazon, for his teenage son. He claims the family assembled the bike properly, as per the instructions. However, while testing the bike for his son, reaching a speed of approximately 20 miles per hour, the front assembly of the bike suddenly malfunctioned and the front tire fell off.

Unable to stop the bike without the front tire, Cunanan was violently thrown when the front fork struck the pavement, landing face-first and suffering severe facial, dental, and bone injuries that required surgery and dental implants.

The complaint alleges the bike was unreasonably unsafe and defectively designed, and that Amazon should have been aware of the risks based on prior customer complaints and product reviews warning of safety issues. Despite these reports, the lawsuit claims Amazon failed to issue a recall or remove the bike from its website, even after being notified by other consumers of the dangerous condition.

“The bike’s defective condition(s) made the product unreasonably dangerous for its designed, intended, and foreseeable uses. An ordinary consumer does not expect that the bike’s front tire will malfunction, fail, or become removed while in use.”

– Garry Cunanan v. Amazon.com LLC

The complaint asserts claims of strict product liability, negligence, and recklessness, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages against Amazon.

Cunanan is pursuing recovery for a range of economic and non-economic losses, including past and future medical and dental expenses, ongoing care needs, lost income, diminished quality of life, and emotional distress.

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