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.