The Antelope Valley Times

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Lancaster couple sue Amazon over alleged exercise band defect

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LOS ANGELES – A Lancaster man and his wife sued Amazon Inc. after he suffered a serious eye injury in 2019 while using an exercise band bought through the e-commerce company.

Thomas Schwabe and Tonya Schwabe allege negligence, strict product liability and breach of implied warranty in their Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which also names as defendants E-Source, Bell Sports Inc. and Go Fit LLC. Tonya Schwabe additionally alleges loss of consortium.

An Amazon representative could not be immediately reached for comment.

Schwabe ordered the exercise band through Amazon and it was delivered in July 2019, the suit states. Bell Sports and Go Fit designed and manufactured the product and it is sold on Amazon by E-Source, according to the suit.

The band is made up generally of a strap of nylon webbing which is looped onto the band with a hard black plastic object that serves as a door anchor for the resistance band, the suit states.

The band and anchor device contained a manufacturing defect, causing an unexpected release of the door anchor that causes it to strike the user like a projectile, potentially causing serious eye injuries, the suit states.

The 66-year-old Schwabe was exercising with the band in August 2019 when there was a sudden release of the anchor ball in the resistance band, striking him in the left eye and causing “permanent injury disfigurement and blindness,” the suit states.

The defendants knew or should have known that other consumers have been injured using the band, the suit states.

Tonya Schwabe, 57, has suffered a loss of marital relations, companionship and emotional distress as a result of her husband’s injuries, according to the suit.

6 comments for "Lancaster couple sue Amazon over alleged exercise band defect"

  1. I guess “in sickness and in health” doesn’t apply in this marriage. I’m sure “loss of consortium” is not uncommon in marriages these days.

    • “consortium” is Latin for when a husband pretends to listen to his wife. It’s archaic.

  2. He probably cant see “It” the way he remembers seeing “It”when he was in highschool or college. Maybe he just needs glasses to secure the anchor on the door more properly…. And see “It” better.

  3. What a shock. Another frivolous lawsuit coming out of Lancaster. Lancaster is the Frivolous Lawsuit Capital of the World. Under Rex, the city is Net Zero in frivolous lawsuits. Frivolous lawsuits coming out of Lancaster are more than the ones that come in.

  4. Why is the wife suing for ‘loss of consortium”… The anchor ball hit him in the eye, not in the balls!!!