Birmingham and Solihull coroner, Louise Hunt, has called for improved measures in all gyms after the death of a 23-year-old man who died after falling off a treadmill and hitting his head at a gym in Birmingham.
An inquest heard how Kamrul Hassan suffered a fatal head injury after falling backwards while running on a treadmill. This incident took place at Small Heath Leisure Centre, in August 2014.
Kamrul Hassan was a business student in London. He remained in at Queen Elizabeth Hospital for six days and died on 16th August. It is said that Hassan had an operation to relieve the rising pressure on his brain, however the injury was too deep which led to his death due to a “traumatic brain injury”.
Louise Hunt ruled Hassan's death was due to the accident. Hunt said that she intends to write to the gym, which is run by Birmingham City Council, asking them to obligate the use of a safety wire while on the treadmill, which is designed to stop the machine if the user gets into a difficulty.
Hunt said, “I think the use of this safety wire needs to be enforced during the induction period, not just at this gym but at all gyms. As a person who uses the gym, I certainly did not know about the safety wire and I have never used one.”
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said, “This was a terrible accident at one of our gyms and the coroner is right to think about how a similar accident could be avoided in the future.”
