Class Calls Pull-up Bar Dangerous

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A sporting goods company's doorway pull-up bar contains a potentially fatal defect, a consumer claims in a federal class action.

Lead plaintiff Matthew Weininger claims that Implus Footcare's defectively designed "top leverage doorway bars" can injure or kill users.

The bars are installed over the top of a doorframe and allegedly use the exerciser's weight to keep the bar in place as the bar pushes against the wall in both directions.

But Weininger claims that few users can maintain "a complete vertical presence" during a pull-up, since the body's natural inclination is for the legs to swing forward on the way up and to backward on the way down.

This "pendulum like effect" is inevitable, he says, and as a result the bar can detach from the door frame and send its user to the ground.

Implus could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Weininger seeks class certification, restitution and damages for breach of warranty and business code violations.

He is represented by Gene Stonebarger, of Folsom.

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