Exercise Equipment Injuries in Georgia: Treadmill and Weight Machine Defects

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Exercise equipment raises questions that other products may not: the machine may not be in use when someone is hurt, its risks may be visible to anyone who looks, and the person hurt may know a good deal about how it works. Two Georgia decisions on exercise equipment, one about a ski exerciser in a home and one about a leg press in a health club, answer whether a machine must be in use, whether an obvious risk defeats a design claim, and what a user’s knowledge does to the claim.

The Design Test

The manufacturer of a product sold as new is liable in tort to a person who uses it or is reasonably affected by it if, at the time of sale, the product was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use and that condition proximately caused the injury (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)). For a claim that a design was defective, the Supreme Court of Georgia adopted a test that sets the risks of a design against the benefits the product delivers in that design (Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732 (1994)).

A Machine That Was Not in Use

In May 1995 a couple bought a NordicTrack ski exerciser and set it up in their recreation room. On July 3, 1996, one of the buyers was walking through the room, fell against the machine, and was seriously injured by one of its projecting front legs. They sued the manufacturer and seller on theories of strict liability, negligence, and failure to warn. A federal trial court entered judgment on the pleadings for the defendants because the machine was not in use at the time of the fall, and the Eleventh Circuit certified the question to the Supreme Court of Georgia. In Jones v. NordicTrack, Inc., 274 Ga. 115 (2001), the Court answered that “in a products liability action for defective design the focus is not on use of the product,” and held that “a product need not be ‘in use’ for a manufacturer to be held liable in negligence or strict liability for injuries proximately caused by the product.” It rested the answer partly on the statute’s reach to persons who may “reasonably be affected” by the property. All the Justices concurred. The Court considered failure to warn only as a theory of defective design.

An Obvious Danger and a User Who Knew

An open and obvious danger does not by itself defeat a design claim; under Banks it is one factor among several. In Bodymasters Sports Industries, Inc. v. Wimberley, 232 Ga. App. 170 (1998), a health club member was using an inverted leg press with 200 pounds of weight, set up for quadriceps exercise after the member removed the pin that otherwise kept the plate from descending closer than about 33 inches to the seat. The member’s feet slipped down the plate, the weight forced the member’s legs toward the chest, and a kneecap fractured. The member claimed the machine lacked a “dead man” lock that would stop the weights from descending that far. The manufacturer argued that the missing device was open and obvious. The Court of Appeals disagreed that this ended the claim: “under Banks, the open and obvious nature of the danger is but one factor to be considered in determining whether a product is defective.” It added that the existence of an alternative design is one factor and not a controlling one, and that the fact that a machine functioned as intended is not controlling either.

The manufacturer also argued that the member assumed the risk. The court reaffirmed that assumption of the risk remains a defense to a design defect claim, but held that “knowledge of the lack of a safety device does not necessarily equate to assumption of the risk,” that the record did not conclusively show the member fully comprehended the danger, and that whether the member assumed the risk “is a matter for the jury to resolve.” On the failure to warn claim the result was different. The member knew wet shoes could slip and had wiped them with a towel for that reason, so “the failure to post signs warning of such danger could not have been the proximate cause of her injury,” and the manufacturer was entitled to summary judgment on that claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the ten-year limit on claims against the manufacturer start?
No action may be brought under the product statute more than ten years after the first sale of the product for use or consumption (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(2)), and the Supreme Court of Georgia has held that the period begins when the finished product is sold as new to the intended consumer (Campbell v. Altec Industries, Inc., 288 Ga. 535 (2011)).

Is the store that sold the machine liable as a manufacturer?
Not in a strict-liability action. A product seller, which includes a business that sells and distributes, installs, repairs, or maintains a product, is not a manufacturer under OCGA 51-1-11 in a strict-liability action and cannot be held liable as one (OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), (b)).

Can a gym be responsible apart from the manufacturer?
A gym that invites members onto its premises owes them ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1), a duty separate from the manufacturer’s liability for the machine’s design.

Did either court find the machine defective?
No. Jones v. NordicTrack answered a certified question about whether the machine had to be in use, and Bodymasters left the design and assumption-of-risk questions for a jury; neither decided that the product was defective.

  • OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1), (2)
  • Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732 (1994)
  • Jones v. NordicTrack, Inc., 274 Ga. 115 (2001)
  • Bodymasters Sports Industries, Inc. v. Wimberley, 232 Ga. App. 170 (1998)
  • OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), (b); Campbell v. Altec Industries, Inc., 288 Ga. 535 (2011); OCGA 51-3-1

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about exercise equipment injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice, is not medical advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a claim can be brought and when depends on the equipment, the sale, and the specific facts. A person hurt on exercise equipment should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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