Bicycles, snowmobiles, exercise machines, and many other recreational products provide a lot of joy and health benefits for people – when they work. Sadly, many products are defective because the manufacturers fail to design the products properly, fail to use quality parts, and/or fail to provide safe and clear instructions. Defective products can cause spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, muscle damage, and other types of serious health problems. Defective products may also cause a user’s death.

Accident victims have the right to hold makers, distributors, and sellers of defective products strictly liable for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost income. Strict liability means the manufactures and others in the supply chain are liable if the product is defective at the time of the accident and the accident causes your injuries. There’s no requirement to prove negligence.

Some of the types of recreational products that are known to have caused accidents due to product defects include the following:

All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

ATVs are popular among teenagers, young adults, and young children. They are motorized vehicles that are often used to ride on rough terrain. They are also used for farm and agricultural work in addition to recreational work. According to the US Product Safety Commission, the agency has received more than 15,700 reports of fatalities due to ATV usage between 1982 and 2018. About 21 % of these reports involved children under 16-years-of-age.

In many cases ATV accidents involve the vehicle rolling over. ATVs have a high center of gravity even at medium speeds. They need to be designed with this problem in mind so that riders don’t fall over. In addition to death, broken bones, and head trauma; riders also suffer severe leg injuries (including loss of their legs) as they try to use their leg and foot to control the ATV.

ATV manufacturers don’t design their vehicles with younger riders in mind, so they could be at greater risk of injury. The instructions should include the requirement that riders wear helmets and other safety gear.

Exercise equipment can pose serious risks

Many people are now using home exercise machines and exercise machines at their local gyms in order to stay in shape. Products such as treadmills and exercise bikes may be motorized, and are a common cause of slips and falls. In October 2020, the company Peloton recalled 54,000 bike pedals because the pedals could “break unexpectedly during use, causing laceration injuries.”

Users can be injured if they fall off the equipment, if the equipment stops unexpectedly, or if they get a shoelace stuck in the equipment. Users who strap themselves into the equipment may suffer a serious injury if the snap breaks or malfunctions.

Trampolines are especially dangerous

Trampolines pose a severe danger to children and adults of all ages who use them. They should be designed to keep in mind the users will rely on the trampoline to have the proper support as they jump up and down. Trampolines should provide some protective measures if the users fall as they land from their jump.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled over 23,000 Super Jumper Trampolines, which were manufactured in China and distributed by a California company, on August 1, 2019. The trampolines were recalled because “the welds on the metal railings (legs) can fail, posing fall and injury hazards.” Consumers were advised to immediately stop using the trampoline and contact the company for a repair kit “which consists of reinforcement clamps that clamp around the trampolines’ welded joints.”

My product was defective. What should I do?

If you are hurt while riding an ATV or a stationary bike, or if your kids get hurt because of a defective trampoline or piece of gym equipment, whatever you do – don’t throw the defective item out. It’ll need to be analyzed by an expert. (If you still have the receipt, keep that, too.) If you are able, try to leave the defective item the way it is so that the experts can see its position. If you can’t – say, because you can’t leave an ATV on its side in the middle of a field – then at least get as many pictures of it, and your injuries, as you can.

At Banks & Jones, our experienced product liability lawyers work with product safety professionals to verify the that recreational products are defective. We filed claims against all responsible parties. Our lawyers understand that consumers have the right to expect at the products they use and enjoy will be safe for their intended use. We demand compensation for all your economic injuries and pain and suffering when manufacturers and others put profit before safety. To make an appointment with a Premier product liability lawyer and near Knoxville, complete our contact form or call us at 865-546-2141 to schedule a free consultation.