Fractured Skull From Elastic Exerciser

SEATTLE (CN) - A personal trainer had a client use a powerful elastic exercise band without proper instruction and it snapped her into a wall, "fracturing her skull and neck, and knocking her unconscious," the woman claims in King County Court.

Danielle Marshall says trainer Jordan Holland's brief demonstration of the elastic band was insufficient: "At the start of the training session the defendant briefly demonstrated the aforementioned elastic resistance band by having one of the largest, strongest men in the class hold one end of the elastic band near a wall, while the defendant put on the harness and ran out until he reached the end of the elastic band's length and met resistance. Then he began vigorously pumping his arms and legs to try even harder to run against the resistance," the complaint states.

"At no time that day before the plaintiff was injured did the defendant ever give any instructions to the plaintiff or others about what the person holding the other end of the elastic band should do to properly and safely perform their function.

"The plaintiff and another woman were paired together at the CrossFit training session on March 13, 2008, and after doing a few exercise stations they proceeded to the elastic band resistance station. The plaintiff put on the harness and the other woman held the other end of the elastic band while standing near the wall, as the defendant had previously demonstrated.

"Then, as also demonstrated by the defendant, the plaintiff ran out until she reached the end of the elastic band and met resistance, and then tried to run even harder against that resistance.

"The woman holding the other end of the elastic band then either slipped, fell or lost her grip on the end of the elastic band, which caused the plaintiff to be pulled and/or propelled backward until the back of her head smashed into the wall fracturing her skull and neck, and knocking her unconscious."

Marshall says Holland and co-defendant Xplore Crossfit failed to properly secure the band to the wall, failed to require that the person holding it be substantially larger and/or stronger than the person wearing the harness, failed to use the proper band for her size, and improperly set up the running station, near a wall.

Marshall seeks general and special damages for multiple fractures to her skull, a fractured neck and symptoms of brain damage, including loss of smell and taste and loss of hearing in her left ear.

She is represented by David Zimmer.

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