Walmart Class Action Says Faulty Bike Assembly Puts Customers at Risk

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A Florida man claims Walmart’s bike assembly is so inadequate that it puts an entire Class of consumers at risk for injury.

Plaintiff Boyd Johnson claims defendant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. does not take adequate steps to ensure the bicycles it sells are properly assembled.

He says the resulting inadequate Walmart bike assembly makes it more likely that the bikes will fail, putting customers like him at risk for serious injury.

In his Walmart bike assembly class action lawsuit, Johnson says he purchased a Roadmaster Granite Peak bike from a Florida Walmart in November 2016. When he rode the bike a couple of weeks later, the handlebar came loose within the stem and slid all the way to the right, he claims.

Johnson says the sliding handlebar caused him to lose control. He launched forward over the front of the bike, landing on the pavement with his face, shoulder, and the right side of his body.

At the time he fell, Johnson says, he had made no adjustments to the bike since he bought it, other than to adjust the seat height. He also points out that had the handlebars slid to the left instead of to the right, he could have fallen into the path of passing vehicles.

Johnson believes his own negative experience with Walmart’s bike assembly resulted from a company-wide practice of failing to ensure that the bikes it sells have been properly put together.

Bike manufacturers like Roadmaster deliver their bikes to retailers like Walmart in a semi-assembled state, Johnson says, requiring retail employees to finish assembly before sale. Walmart then advertises its offer of “free in-store bike assembly,” he says.

In practice, however, the retailer treats Walmart bike assembly as an afterthought, Johnson claims. He believes Walmart employees tasked with assembling bikes for sale do not receive adequate training in bike assembly.

They are also not required to follow an assembly checklist that would help ensure complete and proper assembly, he alleges. He believes that if such a checklist had been used during assembly of the bike he bought, he never would have crashed and been injured.

Johnson further alleges that Walmart fails to avail itself of third-party training programs like those offered by Barnett Bicycle Institute and United Bicycle Institute. For less than $30, Walmart could have its employees trained and certified in bike assembly. Yet the company has opted not to take advantage of these programs, Johnson claims.

Johnson is proposing to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all persons in the U.S. who purchased a bicycle from Walmart and who were injured while riding the bike due to negligent assembly.

He seeks an injunction barring Walmart from continuing the allegedly negligent practices. He also seeks an award of damages and court costs with interest, and any other relief the court sees fit to grant.

Johnson’s attorney is Yechezkel Rodal of Rodal Law PA.

The Walmart Faulty Bike Assembly Class Action Lawsuit is Boyd Johnson v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 0:17-cv-60116, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.