A New York City couple has filed a product liability lawsuit against Peloton, claiming that their 3-year-old son suffered third-degree burns when he got sucked under one of the company’s treadmills.
According to a report in the New York Post, the couple, Sarah and Ygal Saadoun of Brooklyn, said that on July 5, 2020, their son was injured by a Peloton Tread Plus treadmill when he got trapped under the continuously rotating belt of the exercise machine.
Severe Burn Injuries and Trauma
The toddler sustained third-degree burn injuries to large parts of his body, court documents state. The boy’s parents told The Post that they were at a family gathering in someone else’s home when adults heard a scream from another room and turned off the machine. The boy was in extreme pain and scared, his mother said. She described a two-month recovery for her son, saying his bandages had to be changed regularly. The family claimed the little boy was in so much pain and agony that he was put on oxycodone and fentanyl, powerful opioid drugs.
The mother also said her son had been so traumatized by the incident that he has nightmares and wakes up screaming at night. The couple said their 7-year-old daughter has also been emotionally affected. They claim Peloton knew its Tread Plus treadmills posed a serious risk to children, given multiple news reports about related incidents. These include one child’s death and dozens of injuries involving young children.
Refusal to Recall Dangerous Treadmills
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned in April that consumers with children at home should stop using the product immediately. The company eventually recalled 125,000 of its Tread and Tread Plus treadmills in May. The company’s CEO issued a public apology acknowledging that the company was wrong to fight CPSC’s request that it recall the treadmills after one child died and the exercise machines injured 70 others.
Peloton doubled down and refused to recall the treadmills, even after CPSC issued the warning, and it knew about the dangers posed by the home exercise machines, which had become extremely popular during the coronavirus pandemic when many weren’t able to go to gyms to exercise. The Brooklyn couple’s lawsuit alleged that Peloton failed to warn customers about the dangerous treadmills adequately and failed to correct the defects and dangers that were part of the machine’s design.
We hope this couple and their young child receive justice and fair compensation for their losses and can hold Peloton accountable for their negligence and disregard for the safety of children. If these defective, recalled treadmills have injured you or a loved one, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced product defect lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.
Source: https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/parents-claim-peloton-caused-third-degree-burns-on-toddler/
