NYC couple sues Peloton after 4-year-old pinned by treadmill, suffers burns

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Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Family sues Peloton after son's injury
David Novarro has more on the lawsuit brought by the family against Peloton.

BROOKLYN, New York City -- A New York City couple is speaking out after their 4-year-old son suffered third degree burns from a Peloton treadmill.

The parents are now suing the company, arguing Peloton should never have produced what they call a dangerous product.

"It's a death trap," father Ygal Saadoun said. "Children should not be sucked under a conveyor belt that can kill them, period."

But that's what happened to their boy, who was pinned underneath one.

Ygal and Sarah Saadoun say they had dropped their son off with family for a sleepover, but hours later, he was on his way to the hospital in extraordinary pain.

"We were shocked to see the extent of the burns," Ygal Saadoun said. "My son was covered in burns...We were shocked to hear that a treadmill can do that to somebody."

Nearly two dozen families have had children reportedly hurt by the Peloton Tread, with one child even dying.

"The fact that the Peloton has neither a safety guard or sensor to me is extremely worrying," Sarah Saadoun said.

In April, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an urgent warning about the Peloton Tread Plus, urging users with small children in their home "to stop using the product immediately," saying kids can become "entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller" of the treadmill.

Peloton initially called the warning "inaccurate and misleading" but later backtracked and issued a recall.

CEO and co-founder John Foley later apologized on "Good Morning America."

"We did make a mistake by not engaging with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in a more productive dialogue earlier in the process," he said.

But for the Saadouns, it was too little too late.

"I read the statement from the company, after knowing that so many kids had been injured, that a child had died, and still insisting that their product was safe and taking weeks to actually recall the product," Sarah Saadoun said. "That was when we decided that we need to sue this company."

The lawsuit filed against the fitness giant claims Peloton "knew or should have known...that subject treadmill was extremely and unreasonably dangerous."

"Part of what the Saadoun family wants is to raise awareness about how dangerous this treadmill is," attorney Nathan Worksman said.

The lawyers for the family pointed out that most other at home use treadmills have that safety guard on the back of them to prevent this type of accident.

"We think a better, more safe, not defective product design would have avoided this child's injuries," attorney Jordan Merson said.

Peloton released a statement to ABC News saying they take these incidents and others like it very seriously and that they are cooperating with the recall and offering their customers a full refund through November 6.