Defective Bike Assembly Cases – Be Careful What You Ask for…
Even experienced Herndon Virginia riders check their bicycles for safe assembly before heading out for a bike ride, like these smiling CBE Men’s Club Reston Century cyclists
A new bicycle can be a wonderful gift. As the holidays approach, you may find yourself shopping for a new bike for someone you love. A word of caution: sometimes a recreational cycling injury is not caused by another biker, an unsafe motorist or a defective product, but by the failure to assemble the sports product safely. According to SafeKids Bikes cause more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except cars, parents should be extra vigilant to regularly make sure that their children’s bicycles are in good working order before letting them out on the street. Consider this case that came across the desk of Herndon bike injury lawyer Doug Landau.
The case against a well-known big box store involves injuries suffered as a result of the negligent assembly of a child’s bicycle. There was no defect in the bicycle itself. The child’s parents purchased a pre-assembled bicycle and took it home. The next day their daughter tried it out for the first time, and when she finished riding the bike for just a few minutes, she parked it, put the kick-stand down and tried to dismount the bike. The pedal came off, exposing a sharp steel edge and she was cut very badly on the back of her leg behind her knee. Her father inspected the bike and found that virtually all of the nuts/bolts were only finger tight.
After calling the store, the client was told that it is the store’s practice to finger-tighten the nuts/bolts on all of the bikes when they are assembled and then go back and fully tighten all the bolts after a number of bikes have been put together. Obviously this particular bike missed the second round of tightening.
Even just a cursory search for other similar incidents reveals numerous lawsuits filed against big box stores for failure to properly assemble a bike. Lawyer Landau’s rule of thumb: “Always tests a new sports product, such as a bicycle, board, roller blade or skate before you use it. If your holiday gift giving includes a new bike for someone you love (or if you’re buying one for yourself), please do me a favor and take it out for a short test drive first!”
If you or someone you know has been injured as a result from the improper assembly of sports equipment such as a bicycle and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. at 703- 796-9555 at once.