Over the last 24 hours, details have emerged about a lawsuit filed against Peloton in March 2023. The complaint, filed by the mother of Ryan Furtado, alleges that her son was killed when a Peloton Bike+ toppled over on him after doing a core class on the floor.
The case was filed in New York with case number 507437/2023, and is known as JOHANNA FURTADO for RYAN FURTADO vs PELOTON INTERACTIVE INC.
This was first reported by The Daily Beast after discovering the lawsuit through public records. While the lawsuit states that Furtado died alone in his Brooklyn, NY apartment, the details of his death are stated in the court filing:
The workout requires riders to disembark the bike to conduct exercises on the floor. Ryan disembarked the bike and conducted the floor exercises. When rising from those exercises, Ryan used the bike to assist him in getting up. The bike spun around and impacted him on his neck and face severing his carotid artery in his neck killing him instantly. Ryan was found by the New York Police Department with the Subject bike still resting on his neck and face.
You can read the full lawsuit PDF here.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that Peloton instructs riders to “use the Bike for stretching” However, according to the suit “applying pressure on the Bike in a pulling and pushing fashion, caus[es] the Bike to destabilize and fall.”
The case goes on to claim that “Peloton should have predicted and warned against “the foreseeable misuse that people would also use the Subject Bike to pull themselves up from the floor during a workout increasing an unknown risk of injury to the user, such as the case with Ryan.”
The lawsuit does not specify what class was being used. However, although most of the suit references a “Bike” for shorthand, it notes that is in fact referring to the Peloton Bike+, which has the swiveling screen. It clarifies that ” Peloton Bikes (hereinafter “Bike(s)”) including the Bike involved in this action—Peloton Bike + Model: PL-02 bearing Serial number: TABCCS2104272205, with an attached tablet bearing Serial number: PLTN-TTR01 (hereinafter the “Subject Bike”)”
Based on this, though not explicitly stated the filing, it sounds like the member was doing a core strength workout on the floor, with the class playing on the bike using the rotating screen of the Peloton Bike+ – and using the bike for assistance to get off the floor once the workout was complete.
Following the reports of the lawsuit in the news, Ben Boyd, SVP of Global Communications for Peloton released the following statement:
“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.”
As we note above, this is not a new lawsuit, having first been filed in March – the court filings are just now being found and reported on. Peloton filed their response to the lawsuit in June, denying the claims and stating that the result was based on the misuse of the bike and negligence of the member.
Peloton has since requested the case be moved to arbitration, following the standard agreement all members agree to upon signing up for the Peloton service and classes.
Details of Furtado’s death were not detailed in his obituary or a GoFundMe that his coworkers launched in his honor at the time of his death. The lawsuit seeks compensation for Mr. Furtado’s pain and suffering, funeral expenses, medical costs and financial support that he would have contributed to his family, including inheritance. It is also asking for damages for his mother, including pain and suffering and including past and future medical and psychiatric care.
This lawsuit follows news from 2021 that a Tread+ was responsible for the death of a child – which resulted in a 2+ year recall of the Tread+. However, in the last few weeks it was shared the Tread+ will be available again this holiday season.
More recently, Peloton has been working through a recall of the original Peloton Bike over an issue with the seat post.
We will provide updates on this case as they become available.
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Accidents happen.
It’s very unfortunate but I don’t think a lawsuit against peloton is right.
I ride my peloton bike 3 to 4 times a day and I use common sense when getting on and getting off.
Peloton Bikes are heavy AF and should NOT tip over that easy!