Injury claims pile up in Skechers toning shoe MDL

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More than 50 product liability suits consolidated in Kentucky federal court claim that Skechers toning shoes cause leg, ankle and foot injuries.

The U.S. Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation reported Jan. 14 that there were 54 separate product liability actions in the Skechers toning shoe MDL currently before U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell in the Western District of Kentucky. A review of the district court’s online docket revealed that more than 100 plaintiffs have been added to the litigation since the middle of January.

The Manhattan Beach, Calif., shoe company manufactures toning shoes, including Skechers Shape-ups and Tone-ups. The shoes have a pronounced rocker bottom sole. The lawsuits against Skechers generally allege that the shoes are defective because the rocker bottom soles alter a person’s gait and causes severe lateral instability. In addition to alleging physical injury, plaintiffs typically allege that Skechers violates consumer protection laws by falsely claiming its toning shoes confer multiple health benefits.

In one of the more recent lawsuits filed in the MDL, Debbie Hadley of Tooley County, Utah, said that she suffered multiple injuries, including bone fractures in her lower left leg, in a fall at home that occurred while she was wearing Skechers Shape-ups. According to Hadley’s lawsuit, her right toning shoe “pronated inward and caused her right ankle to collapse” as she walked down a step from her back porch.

“Skechers places consumers at increased risk for chronic injuries such as stress fractures and tendon ruptures, as well as acute injuries from falling,” Hadley said in her complaint.

The federal MDL panel centralized the Skechers product liability cases in a Dec. 19, 2011, order that transferred the 12 lawsuits pending in federal court at that time to the Western District of Kentucky.

Last year, Skechers agreed to pay $40 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company made unsupported claims about the health benefits of its toning shoes.