Top Fitness Lawsuit Claims Home Gym Machine Failed, Crushed Woman’s Legs

An inspection of the equipment determined that parts of the locking mechanism had been mislabeled, resulting in improper installation and allowing the safety system to fail.

A New Hampshire couple has filed a product liability lawsuit claiming that a leg press and hack squat machine sold and installed by Top Fitness Store failed during the first use.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Renee and John Ferreira in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire on May 13. It names Seattle Home Fitness LLC, doing business as Top Fitness Store, and Hudson Steel Co., the manufacturer of the Leg Press/Hack Squat Station, as defendants.

The Ferreiras allege the exercise machine was defectively designed and manufactured, inadequately tested and sold without sufficient warnings. They also indicate the system was improperly installed as a result of mislabeled components that allegedly caused the locking system to be assembled incorrectly.

Home Gym Equipment Safety Concerns

Leg press and hack squat machines are designed to allow users to safely perform lower-body strength exercises by lifting heavy weights along a guided track. The machines typically include locking mechanisms intended to hold the weights securely in place until the user manually releases them to begin an exercise.

However, if those locking systems fail, the loaded weights can fall without warning, creating a substantial risk of crushing injuries, fractures and other serious trauma. Although the Ferreiras’ alleged defect occurred with a home gym machine, their complaint joins a growing number of exercise injury lawsuits filed in recent months.

Plaintiffs in many of these cases often allege that dangerous incidents and injuries can result from exercise equipment at home and in gyms that have defective designs, manufacturing errors, improper assembly and inadequate warnings and instructions.

Leg Press Machine Injury Allegations

According to the complaint, the Ferreiras purchased a Hudson Steel Leg Press/Hack Squat Station from the Top Fitness retail store in Salem, New Hampshire. The machine was delivered and installed in their home on May 9, 2025.

That same day, Renee Ferreira began using the machine for the first time. After completing several warm-up sets and loading an appropriate amount of weight, she sat down to start her workout. Before she could manually release the weight stack or begin exercising, the locking mechanisms allegedly failed, causing the loaded weights to crash down and crush her legs.

The lawsuit indicates that after the incident, the plaintiffs contacted Top Fitness, which returned to inspect the equipment. Representatives allegedly determined that parts of the locking mechanism had been mislabeled, resulting in improper installation and allowing the safety system to fail.

Ferreira alleges the machine was defectively designed and manufactured, inadequately tested, sold without sufficient warnings and improperly installed. The complaint claims both defendants knew or should have known that the leg press was unreasonably dangerous, yet placed the product into the stream of commerce without correcting the defects.

Ferreira alleges the machine was defectively designed and manufactured, inadequately tested, sold without sufficient warnings and improperly installed. The complaint claims both defendants knew or should have known that the leg press was unreasonably dangerous, yet placed the product into the stream of commerce without correcting the defects.

“Due to a defect in its design, manufacture, warnings and/or installation, the locking mechanisms of the leg press failed to hold the weight in place at the top of the machine before Plaintiff Renee Ferreira moved to begin her exercise and caused the weight to come crashing down upon her.”

— Renee Ferreira et al. v. Seattle Home Fitness LLC d/b/a Top Fitness Store et al.

The lawsuit raises allegations of strict product liability, manufacturing defect, negligence, breach of warranty of merchantability and loss of consortium on behalf of Renee’s husband, John. It seeks compensatory damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, permanent impairment and other losses.

Gym Equipment Lawsuits

The Ferreiras’ complaint comes amid a rising number of lawsuits affecting both home exercise systems and gym equipment located in various fitness centers.

In April, a New York woman filed a product liability lawsuit alleging that a defective Technogym upper body ergometer exercise machine caused her to suffer severe and permanent injuries when the seat unexpectedly gave way during use. 

That same month, a 24 Hour Fitness lawsuit filed by a California woman alleged that the placement of a treadmill and the absence of adequate safety measures at one of that company’s gyms caused her husband to suffer a traumatic brain injury that left him permanently disabled and in need of ongoing care.

A separate case brought at the end of last year claimed that a Life Time Fitness member in New Jersey was injured because the facility failed to properly inspect and maintain its spin bikes and other exercise equipment.

Earlier in 2025, a Pennsylvania couple claimed that the equipment layout at a Planet Fitness gym contributed to severe injuries after the cable on an upright rowing machine allegedly snapped, throwing the husband backward into nearby machines that were positioned too closely together. He reportedly suffered a broken rib, a fractured vertebra and a collapsed lung.

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