Suit by Wieder Claims Health Spa Injury

Claiming that she was injured by a “stomach crunch” machine, Orange County Supervisor Harriett Wieder has filed a lawsuit against a Huntington Beach health club.

Wieder claims that she tore the rotator cuff on her right shoulder, an injury that “will result in some permanent disability.”

The lawsuit, which was filed late Friday, names Holiday Spa Health Clubs of California and its facility at 17091 Beach Blvd. as defendants.

Wieder asked for no specific amount. The suit was filed in Orange County Superior Court, where a dispute must involve at least $25,000 to be heard.

Wieder, 65, said Saturday that she had been using the machine, which is rowed like a boat, for about three months when she was injured in March.

“I thought I had hurt a tendon, but it didn’t go away for three weeks. I finally went to the doctor,” she said. The problem was diagnosed April 10, she added.

She also said that she has ruled out surgery to repair the shoulder damage and has chosen to slowly rehabilitate it. She added that she still cannot fully raise her right arm or reach for objects.

Wieder said the machine did not have instructions and that the club did not have professionals to teach members.

“The problem with these new clubs is that they got these pretty things running around in leotards. What they are there for is to move the traffic,” she said. “There are no notices on these machines. I just don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”

The suit claims that Wieder sustained “bodily injury, and shock and injury to her nervous systems and person, all of which said injuries have caused and continue to cause plaintiff great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering.”

According to the suit, she was forced to hire “housekeepers, aides and assistants” as a result of the incident, and asked for additional damages to cover those costs.

A club employee, who identified himself as manager but would not state his name, said lawsuits claiming damages are “commonplace.” He said people file lawsuits “every time they feel a pain or slip in the shower.”

“For all I know, it’s a legitimate claim,” he said. “She may deserve some compensation, but I would doubt it.”

The manager added that club employees are well-trained. Several different machines used in the club to exercise abdominal muscles could be the “stomach crunch” machine Wieder complained of, he said.

A spokesman at the firm’s corporate headquarters would not comment on Wieder’s lawsuit.

Times staff writer Ray Perez contributed to this story.