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SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah woman is suing a popular shoe company, saying their toning shoes caused her to fracture bones in her legs.
Peggy Stults of Cedar City says after watching a commercial for Skechers Shape-Ups shoes, she bought a pair in 2010 to help tone her muscles.
But after wearing the shoes as she walked to work and other activities for several months, she started feeling pain in her knees. She was eventually diagnosed with bilateral tibial fractures in both legs. Doctors pointed to her shoes as the culprit.
Court documents obtained by KSL show Stults and her husband are suing the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based shoe company that manufactures the shoes for failing to disclose safety risks and profiting by making false claims.
The suit says the shoe manufacturer, "failed to include any warning or instruction that warned consumers of the fact that the design of the shoes could cause them to suffer chronic injuries and/or to fall and suffer acute injury."
The lawsuit also cites a 2010 study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse that targeted multiple brands of toning shoes. It found no evidence they help consumers improve muscle strength. The Skechers company disputed the researchers' claims.
Stults' lawsuit seeks compensation for current and future medical bills and lost wages.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
