A complaint claims that a New York City man died quickly after his Peloton exercise bicycle fell over during a workout, cutting off blood flow to his neck.
According to the lawsuit submitted in Kings County Supreme Court, 32-year-old Ryan Furtado was discovered dead in his downtown Brooklyn residence on January 13, 2022.
Court records filed by his mother, Johanna Furtado, showed Furtado was doing one of the exercise giant’s planned workouts at the time of the accident, which instructed him to step off the bike and execute exercises on the floor.
Ryan used the bike to help him get up after those workouts. His carotid artery was severed as the bike flipped over and crashed into his neck.
The action, filed in March, claims that the bike was still lying on his face and neck when NYPD officers discovered him.
Furtado’s mother claims in the complaint that the fitness giant tells its students to use the bike for stretching but that doing so causes the bike to destabilize and tumble when subjected to pressure in a pull or push mode.
A report shows Peloton argued in its court filing that Furtado’s death and alleged damages were caused by abuse or misuse of the device.
It’s the most recent drama for the troubled firm, which did brisk business during the COVID-19 outbreak but has been plagued by product recalls and mishaps afterward.
In 2021, the business said a six-year-old child was killed in an accident using a Peloton treadmill.
Reports revealed that with the potential for injury from a seat-related problem, Peloton Interactive recalled over 2 million exercise bikes earlier this year, causing an 8.9% drop in the company’s stock price.
Peloton is already dealing with falling demand for their training equipment due to the economy, and this voluntary recall added fuel to the fire.
In a statement released in April, Peloton stated they had received 35 complaints of broken seat posts out of 2 million bikes sold in the US.
