Auckland man breaks jaw after Lime scooter locks up, throwing him over handlebars

Liam Thompson, 27, went over the handlebars of a Lime scooter. Photos / Supplied

An Auckland man is suffering from a broken jaw and a range of cuts and grazes after his Lime scooter locked up mid-ride, throwing him over the handlebars.

Liam Thompson, 27, went over the handlebars of a Lime scooter he was riding on Friday evening, on his way home from his local supermarket in Sunnynook, on the North Shore.

Thompson was en route home with supplies for his son's first birthday party on Saturday.

Liam Thompson's injuries. Photo / Supplied

He was midway down a hill when the wheels on his scooter locked.

"I was in the middle of the path and it was clear - there were no bumps or anything," he said.

"The wheels just stopped and locked in place, and I got thrown off the front of the scooter."

Thompson said he landed on his jaw before sliding across the concrete, grazing his chest as he did so.

"It was pretty bad, the most pain I've felt in a while."

Thompson, who was a frequent Lime user, said he lay for a while, and shouted for help.

Liam Thomspon suffered a broken jaw and a raft of cuts and grazes.

He soon realised no one was around, so dragged himself off the ground and ended his journey on the Lime.

Understandably, he gave the ride a one-star rating.

He then hobbled to his home in Totara Vale - around 1km away.

His partner Emily took him to hospital, with their son Harvey in tow.

Thompson had a CT scan in hospital. Photo / Supplied

Thompson was eventually transferred to Middlemore Hospital - as doctors were initially unsure whether he would need surgery on his jaw.

"They gave me morphine in hospital, and I had 15 different x-rays on my face and an CT scan," he said.

Thompson said the doctors initially thought his neck was broken - hence the extensive x-rays.

Fortunately, this wasn't the case. However, both sides of his jaw were broken, he had multiple cuts and grazes and a broken tooth.

Thompson was eventually discharged, but was back in the hospital on Saturday afternoon for a check-up - after celebrating Harvey's birthday at a local park.

Liam Thompson with Harvey and Emily. Photo / Supplied

A Lime spokeswoman said the company "recently became aware of an operational issue affecting certain scooters".

Doctors were worried Thompson had broken his spine. Photo / Supplied

"While the issue is still under investigation, the affected scooters have been removed from circulation. In the meantime, we are in the process of rolling out early detection and additional preventative measures for our global fleet. User safety is our first priority and we appreciate customer patience during any delays in scooter availability."

Thompson, who has written to Lime but hadn't heard back, said his Lime-ing days were over - but he still wanted an explanation.

"It's definitely a malfunction," he said.

"I'm a really safe person, I'm really courteous of other people and I slow down, take my time around people and whatnot. I wasn't expecting it to just stop like it did."

Thompson has been advised his injuries would take around six weeks to heal.

"My jaw is killing me right now - I'm all grazed up lying in bed at the moment," he said.