MS Coast woman sues fitness company Peloton. What happened when exercise bike collapsed?

A Coast woman is suing the exercise bike manufacturer Peloton after she says one its machines collapsed and caused her injuries.

Yolanda Crawford filed the suit this month in Harrison County Circuit Court and is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

Crawford is suing Peloton Interactive, Inc., RXO Last Mile, Inc., a contractor that assembled and delivered her bike, and any others with knowledge of her case.

Crawford bought the bike for about $1,500 and had it delivered to her house on May 21, 2021, the suit says. She was instructed by an RXO employee to watch online videos to learn how to adjust the seat and handlebars. Later the same day, the bike’s handlebars collapsed into their support column. Crawford called Peloton and was told someone would contact her.

The next day, Crawford was using the machine when “the bike seat collapsed to its base with a loud noise, throwing plaintiff off the bike and into a wall. Plaintiff suffered immediate and excruciating pain to her lower back.”

Crawford got help from her children to get up from the floor and then went to Merit Health Biloxi hospital for emergency treatment.

The suit alleges negligence on the part of Peloton and RXO Last Mile, claiming each didn’t do enough to keep users safe.

Both Peloton, based in New York, and RXO, based in Georgia, have yet to respond to the suit.

According to a report in US News & World Report, “Peloton recalled about 125,000 of its treadmills in 2021 after they were linked to the death of a child and injuries to 29 other people. The company also recalled more than 2 million of its stationary bikes (in 2023) because its seat post assembly could break during use, posing fall and injury hazards.”