Multiple children and a pet have been injured and recently a child died in a Peloton Tread+ treadmill accidents but Peloton has been very reluctant to cooperate with the federal safety agency. The company is fighting a request to recall the dangerous product and refuses to provide the name of the child who recently died after getting stuck under the high end Peloton treadmill.
“The CPSC must have reason to believe that the treadmill wasn’t designed appropriately” said Anthony Gair. According to him, Peloton might not have done a hazard analysis before launching the product or if they did, he questions if they knew about the danger and ignored it.
After Peloton refused to co-operate, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took the very unusual step to issue an subpoena to the company requesting the identity of the victim so they can fully investigate the accident. Additionally the CPSC issued a warning to consumers asking them to stop using the Peloton Tread+. Warnings are the last resort according to Product Liability Lawyer Anthony Gair.
38 reports of personal injuries and 1 report of wrongful death
The CPSC received one report of the death of a child, 37 report of child injuries and 1 report of pet injury associated with the use of the Peloton Tread+. Injuries reported include fractures, lacerations and abrasions. In all accidents, the scenario is the same: children, pets or objects are getting trapped and pinned under the machine as the rear roller of the product pulls them in. The accidents can also occur when an adult is using the treadmill machine therefore the solution to just lock the machine when not using it is not enough.
Read Lauren Thomas’ Article on CNBC.com
Below is a video that was released by the CPSC in its warning not to use the Peloton Tread+
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/04/16/peloton-treadmill-injuries-death-cpsc/