Harry Reid is suing an exercise band manufacturer for damages sustained when the band either “broke or slipped” from his hand. The damages are serious, including broken facial bones & ribs and the loss of vision in his right eye. If, in fact, the band broke, Reid has a great case. However, if it merely slipped from his hand, he’s suing the manufacturer for his own clumsiness, which is a waste of the court’s time.
In a stunning case of “What are you thinking?” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) filed suit against the makers of an exercise band the he alleges failed causing him major injuries. He alleges that the band either “broke or slipped out of” his hand while using it in January. It seems to me it would be easy to determine if the band broke, in which case, there might actually be a product liability claim. However, if it merely slipped from Reid’s hand, how is that the fault of the manufacturer? If that’s the case, then Reid wants money for nothing – slips are free.
Reid and his wife, Landra Gould, filed the suit, asking for more than $50k in damages. There are three defendants: Hygenic Intangible Property Holding Co., the Hygenic Corp. and Performance Health. Reid’s complaint states that the three companies “combined to create, manufacture and market a defective product called TheraBand or Therea-Band exercise band.”
So, what exactly happened with the exercise band? The 73-year-old Reid was working out with it in his bathroom on New Year’s Day. According to the suit, he had the band attached to “a sturdy object.” The documents claim, “While in use, the TheraBand broke or slipped out of Mr. Reid’s hand, causing him to spin around and strike his face on a cabinet.” [Emphasis added] The face-meets-cabinet incident resulted in broken facial bones, vision loss in Reid’s right eye and broken ribs.
More from the suit: “At all times material, Defendants knew or had constructive knowledge of the danger of injury to consumers, especially to the elderly, as a result of TheraBands breaking or slipping out of their hands while mounted to various sturdy objects.”
Honestly, if the band broke (again, simple to determine), I think Reid might have a case. However, if the band slipped out of his hand, I say he’s wasting his time and the court’s with this suit. It’s one thing to sue Takata over anti-personnel-like airbag deployment, but it’s quite another to sue them for the accident itself.
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