The mother of 32-year-old Ryan Furtado alleged in thelawsuit, which is available to view on the outlet’s website, that he was doing a “core” workout on the bike in January 2022, which required him to get off the bike and continue exercises on the floor.
Furtado’s mother, Johanna Furtado, claimed that once he was done with the exercises, he “used the bike to assist him in getting up,” but the bike “spun around” hitting him on his face and neck “severing a carotid artery in his neck killing him instantly.”
Ryan Furtado
Johanna alleged that there was only a single warning label on the bike’s front leg that the bike could cause injury if used to “pull oneself up from the floor during a workout,” and Peloton should have more adequately warned against the “foreseeable misuse” that people would do exactly that.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year in March in Brooklyn civil Supreme Court, though the Daily Beast broke the initial news of the filing on Wednesday.
In response to the lawsuit, a Peloton spokesperson told PEOPLE on Thursday, “We offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Furtado family for this unfortunate accident. As a Member-first company, the health and safety of our Member community is a top priority.”
A Peloton bike.Peleton
Peleton
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Pelotonissued a recallearlier this year on over two million bikes due to safety concerns after multiple users reported that the seat broke and detached from the bike while in use, causing multiple injuries. This applied to all bikes in the PL01 model sold between January 2018 and May 2023 in the U.S.
The company also voluntary recalled the company’s Tread+ and Tread treadmills in 2021 after a 1-year-old child died in an accident involving the treadmill.
source: people.com
