Treadmill Safety

Early last month, tech entrepreneur (and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg) Dave Goldberg died after injuring himself on a treadmill. When details of the incident were released, as our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg know, the cause and nature of his unfortunate and untimely death raised issues of exercise equipment safety (and treadmill safety in particular) by media outlets and exercise aficionados alike. In this blog, after exploring the events leading to and causing Goldberg’s death, we will outline a number of safety tips to keep in mind when using a treadmill.

According to reports concerning the incident, Goldberg was on vacation with his family in Mexico when he apparently fell off of a treadmill during an afternoon workout session, striking his head. According to CNN, a Mexican official later told reporters that Goldberg “cracked his head open” and subsequently died from massive blood loss and a brain injury. While there certainly could have been other factors at play in causing Goldberg’s injuries (i.e., Goldberg might have experienced some tragic event causing the fall off the treadmill), based on what we know at this time, his health prior to getting on that treadmill was not an issue.

Thus, as our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers know, it’s important to think about treadmill falls within the context of falls of all types, which – when taken as a total figure – are the number one cause of traumatic brain injury (according to the Centers for Disease Control) and the second leading cause of spinal cord injury (according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons). Traumatic brain injuries, one of which contributed to Goldberg’s death, aren’t as infrequent as you might think. The CDC reports that traumatic brain injuries contribute to roughly 30% of all injury-related deaths, leading to about 138 deaths per day.

Goldberg’s fall from a treadmill, which apparently caused a traumatic, life-ending brain injury, has motivated many people to learn more about treadmill safety. To that end, below, our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers have listed a number of important safety tips to keep in mind when using a treadmill (many of which were listed as important treadmill safety tips in a CNN article). While certainly not comprehensive, these tips should not be forgotten.

• Only use the treadmill if you are feeling completely healthy;
• Attach the emergency stop key cord as instructed;
• Do not set-up the treadmill against a wall, as you run the risk of winding up trapped between the wall and the treadmill in the event of a fall;
• Do not stand on the treadmill running belt when you press the “on” button; straddle the belt, by standing on the sides of the machine, and then step onto the moving belt while its set to a low setting; and
• Stop multitasking! While you’re on the treadmill, stop the e-mailing, calling, texting, posting, photo sharing, etc.

While you as a treadmill user certainly have a responsibility to use the equipment safely, our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers feel strongly that treadmills must include more safety features – attaching a string that a user can pull in the event of an accident is certainly not a sufficiently safe way to ensure that the treadmill will stop when you absolutely need it to. Treadmill manufacturing companies need to step up and do their part in making use of their exercise products healthy, not life threatening.

If you have been injured due to the wrongdoing of another, or if you’ve been injured while using a product or piece of exercise equipment, please contact our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers at Aronberg & Aronberg by calling 561-266-9191 or by e-mailing daronberg@build.simple.biz to schedule a free consultation. We look forward to assisting you.

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