Peloton Subpoenaed by DOJ After Child Killed, Dozens Injured by Recalled Treadmills

The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have subpoenaed Peloton over injuries caused by the company's equipment, the fitness products manufacturer said on Friday.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Peloton said that it is being subpoenaed over documents and information that it reported in relevance to those injuries.

Newsweek contacted Peloton for comments and but the company's spokesperson said Peloton can't comment on active litigation.

"The SEC is also investigating our public disclosures concerning these matters. We have also been named in several lawsuits related to these recalls," Peloton added in the filing.

The fitness product maker said that it has seen an increase in the number and significance of disputes and inquiries due to the injuries sustained by customers buying Peloton products.

"We are presently subject to an investigation and other litigation related to injuries sustained by members and others who use or purchase the Tread+," the company said. "In April 2021, purported Peloton Member Shannon Albright filed a putative class action lawsuit against us, alleging violations of various California state laws related to the Tread+."

Peloton said that it can't predict the scope, duration, or outcome of these investigations, but added that the company does "intend to cooperate fully with each of these investigations."

In May, Peloton recalled its Tread+ and Tread treadmill machines after the death of a child and reports of injuries.

"The decision to recall both products was the right thing to do for Peloton's Members and their families," Peloton CEO John Foley said in a statement in May. "I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize."

Robert Adler, the acting chairman of the CPSC, said at the time the recall agreement was "the result of weeks of intense negotiation and effort, culminating in a cooperative agreement that I believe serves the best interests of Peloton and of consumers."

In April, safety regulators urged people with children and pets to stop using the Tread+ treadmill after incidents of children being injured were reported, including an incident that was reportedly responsible for a child's death.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said at the time that it believed that the safety equipment product posed a serious risk with "multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller of the product."