Court wrong to rule treadmill was 'open, obvious danger,' panel says

September 30, 2009
Vol.155, Issue 191

By Pat Milhizer
Law Bulletin staff writer

A Cook County judge erred when she granted summary judgment to parents facing a negligence lawsuit after a girl was injured on their treadmill, the 1st District Appellate Court held Wednesday in a case of first impression that considers whether home exercise equipment poses an open and obvious danger to a child.

Mehak Qureshi suffered a hand injury in 2005 requiring skin grafts, stitches and physical therapy after she slipped on a treadmill at her friend's suburban home. No parents were around when the 10-year-old girl was hurt, and the Qureshi family sued the Ahmed family.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that the Ahmeds owed their daughter a duty to protect her from harm and that an accessible treadmill in their house presented an unreasonable risk of harm. They also alleged that the lack of adult supervision and the failure to keep the treadmill away from "curious children" contributed to the injury, the panel said.

The Ahmeds alleged that they owed the girl no duty to protect her because the treadmill posed an open and obvious danger. Illinois courts have recognized such dangers as fire, water and heights, the opinion said.

The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, which Associate Judge Elizabeth M. Budzinski granted without explanation.

In a 12-page opinion, Appellate Court Justice Sharon Johnson Coleman reversed the trial court decision and remanded the case for further proceedings. Justices Michael J. Murphy and Patrick J. Quinn concurred.

In their defense, the Ahmeds pointed out that the girl had been on a treadmill before and that there was one in her own home. The appeals panel replied that her treadmill knowledge may be relevant to potential allegations of contributory negligence, but isn't relevant in determining whether the Ahmeds had a duty to protect her.

The girl testified at deposition that she had used the Ahmeds' treadmill on the day before the injury. She also said that, unlike her treadmill at home, which has an emergency stop button on the control panel, the Ahmeds' treadmill required the user to remove a key to instantly stop the machine.

The girl also testified that the she and others were having a racing contest on the treadmill, leading the appeals panel to say that the facts indicate that the children were using the machine "as a toy rather than a piece of adult fitness equipment."

In reaching their decision, the justices noted that the Ahmeds testified that their own daughter was prohibited from running on the treadmill without parental permission and supervision. The Ahmeds also testified that they usually kept the treadmill key in a kitchen drawer.

"Thus," the opinion said, "it is clear that the Ahmeds believed injuries to children were likely and that children would not appreciate and avoid the risk."

The panel held that summary judgment wasn't proper because there is room for debate as to whether the treadmill's potential danger was obvious to the girl. The justices also pointed out that the the trial court agreed with the defendants' assertion that the risk was obvious but didn't explain why that conclusion was reached.

Therefore, the justices said, they could not conclude as a matter of law that the Ahmeds were free from having a duty to protect the girl.

The plaintiffs were represented by Naperville attorney Robert G. Black, who said he was satisfied with the result because he called it "shortsighted" to deem a treadmill an obvious threat without considering that the defendants didn't enforce their rule that children shouldn't use the machine without supervision.

"Those circumstances create a material question towards liability here," Black said.

The Ahmeds were represented by Gerald M. Dombrowski of Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman LLP. Dombrowski said that he had agreed with the trial court decision, and his clients will weigh their options going forward.

The case is Wasim Qureshi v. Junaid Ahmed and Loretta Ahmed, No. 1-08-0795.
pmilhizer@lbpc.com