FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A Florida man says Future Motion Inc., the maker of the “Onewheel,” knowingly sold defective skateboards.
Plaintiffs Marc and Rachel Poldino, residents of Indian River County, Fla., filed their lawsuit July 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Pierce Division.
Defendant Future Motion Inc., based in Santa Cruz, Calif., is a digital vehicle company known for its self-balancing, electric skateboards.
According to Poldino, one of Onewheel’s key features is that it will provide the rider with “pushback” when approaching the device’s limits during use.
“The harder the device works to maintain operation, the less the Onewheel is able to assist the rider in balancing,” according to the 22-page complaint. “Once the motor’s resources reach a critical point, the motor’s normal ability to help the rider balance disappears, and the rider will experience an unexpected nosedive.”
Poldino’s strict liability claims focus on Future Motion’s design defects, manufacturing defects, and its warnings and instructions. The filing also accuses the company of negligence.
In law, strict liability means that a person or entity can be held responsible for damages or injuries, regardless of whether they were at fault or intended to cause harm. Negligence, meanwhile, requires proof of fault or carelessness.
Strict liability often is applied to activities considered inherently dangerous or to defective products.
The Onewheel skateboard was recalled by Future Motion in 2023 after the Consumer Safety Product Commission warned in 2022 that the skateboards were dangerous.
“Future Motion has received dozens of reports of incidents involving the electric skateboards, including four reported deaths between 2019 and 2021 and injuries such as traumatic brain injury, concussion, paralysis, upper-body fractures, lower-body fractures and ligament damage,” the CSPC wrote in a September 2023 release. “The reported deaths resulted from head trauma and, in at least three of those incidents, the rider was not wearing a helmet.”
Marc Poldino claims he was riding his Onewheel Pint in Palm Beach County on April 16, 2024 when he was thrown off the device onto a paved surface.
Prior to the ejection, he claims he had ridden the same Onewheel for about 900 miles with no issues.
Poldino noted he was traveling at a “relatively low rate of speed,” yet was still ejected and fell forward onto his hands.
“As a result of being unexpectedly thrown off the Onewheel, Plaintiff suffered severe trauma to his left wrist, which he fractured,” the complaint states.
According to his filing, Poldino had to undergo orthopedic surgery, with titanium plates and screws placed in his wrist. His medical expenses total, to date, are nearly $196,000.
Also in the filing, Rachel Poldino claims a loss of consortium. Loss of consortium, legally, is a claim made by a spouse for the loss of non-economic benefits due to someone’s negligence.
Clark Fountain La Vista Littky-Rubin & Whitman LLP in Palm Beach Gardens is representing the plaintiffs.
