On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) and Pelton each announced separate voluntary recalls of nearly 125,000 of Peloton’s Tread+ and Tread treadmills. The recall follows the CPSC’s April 17, 2021 “urgent warning” for users of the treadmills following multiple incidents, which included broken bones, cuts, and grazes; along with the death of a six-year-old, who was pulled underneath the rear of the treadmill while the machine was operating.
When the warning was first announced, Peloton initially refused to recall the treadmills. It only took two weeks for Peloton’s reversal to implement the recall. Peloton CEO John Foley relayed in a statement that “Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the CPSC’s request [to recall the treadmills] . . . We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize.”
Historically, exercise equipment has been exceptionally hazardous for children in the United States. According to a U.S. National Institutes of Health study in 2014, 25,000 kids under the age of ten are injured by exercise equipment annually. In fact, people of all ages are more likely to injure themselves on treadmills than any other type of exercise equipment according to a NIH study. The same NIH study provided that even though treadmills represent just a quarter of exercise machines, they comprise two-thirds of exercise equipment injuries. Each year, approximately 46,000 Americans are injured from treadmill use, which is four times that of stationary bikes, like the original Pelton bike.
The CPSC stated that it will continue to investigate all known Peloton treadmill incidents. The CPSC recommends that if one is to continue the use of the Peloton considering the voluntary recall, that it not be operated near small children or pets. When in use, the machine should be kept in a room with a lock or oriented in a way that the runner can see the entryway (in the event of an entering child or pet). When not in use, the CPSC recommends that the machine be unplugged.
Peloton has announced that it will work with the CPSC to improve the safety of their treadmill to “set new industry safety standards for treadmills,” because the company has a “desire and a responsibility to be an industry leader in product safety.”
Peloton has announced that it intends to offer a full refund should a customer opt to return the treadmill.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed from a Peloton Treadmill, exercise equipment, or as a result of some other product defect, please contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-742-6009 or toll free at 1-888-261-8831.