{"id":1363,"date":"2025-03-26T20:06:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=1363"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:27:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:27:53","slug":"student-died-after-slipping-while-using-weights-machine-at-the-gym","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/26\/student-died-after-slipping-while-using-weights-machine-at-the-gym\/","title":{"rendered":"Student died after slipping while using weights machine at the gym"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Mohammed\t<\/div>
Mohammed Farraj died in the gym when the bar from a weights machine fell on his head, an inquest has heard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u00a0medical student died in the gym when the bar from a weights machine fell on his head, an inquest has heard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammed Farraj had been using an aerobic step to perform calf raises while using equipment called a Smith machine at the\u00a0gym\u00a0at the University of East Anglia in Norwich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Detective sergeant Robert Waring said in a statement read by the coroner\u2019s officer that a Smith machine is a \u2018horizontal bar bell (which) runs vertically up and down on rails\u2019.<\/p>\n

The aerobic step was not part of the machine.<\/p>\n

Mr Waring said the incident at the Sportspark\u00a0gym\u00a0on the evening of October 16 last year was captured on CCTV.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s clear from watching the CCTV footage that this was a tragic accident,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

He said that the 21-year-old was performing calf raises while using a \u2018plastic step aerobic block\u2019 and \u2018the plastic block can then be seen to tip towards him\u2019.<\/p>\n

He said that the bar \u2018drops\u2019 and \u2018forces his neck to the ground\u2019.<\/p>\n

Mr Waring said a safety feature on the machine was a set of adjustable stops which \u2018should be set to the highest position possible\u2019 to stop the weight bar.<\/p>\n

He said they had been \u2018left in the very lowest position\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Fitness\t<\/div>
Mohammed Farraj had been using an aerobic step to perform calf raises while using equipment called a Smith machine(Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The officer also described the use of the plastic step as \u2018incorrect\u2019, adding it was \u2018intended for a different purpose\u2019 and that a weight disk could have been used instead.<\/p>\n

Norfolk assistant coroner Johanna Thompson, concluding that Mr Farraj\u2019s death was an accident, said that \u2018safety stops on the equipment hadn\u2019t been appropriately adjusted prior to\u2019 Mr Farraj performing his calf raise exercises.<\/p>\n

\u2018He used a step aerobic block to stand on,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018In doing so he slipped, causing the weight he had been lifting to fall onto him. This resulted in him sustaining a fatal head injury.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gym\u00a0user Dr Trey Koev said he had been \u2018less than two metres away\u2019 from Mr Farraj, using another piece of\u00a0gym\u00a0equipment \u2013 the incline bench press \u2013 interchangeably with his\u00a0gym\u00a0partner.<\/p>\n

He said Mr Farraj had been using the Smith machine \u2018with a stepping platform to perform calf raises\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018All of a sudden whilst my\u00a0gym\u00a0partner was finishing his set I saw him slip onto the platform,\u2019 said Dr Koev, who is a research scientist at UEA.<\/p>\n

\u2018The bar carrying the weight came down.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>
Emergency services at the University of East Anglia\u2019s Sportspark, in Norwich (Picture: Steven Whitear)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He said Mr Farraj \u2018struggled to his feet very rapidly then tumbled, then both my\u00a0gym\u00a0partner and I rushed to him as we were the closest to him\u2019.<\/p>\n

Dr Koev said there had been red-coloured weights on either end of the bar \u2013 indicating 25kg each \u2013 and the bar weighed approximately 15kg, with the total weight as 65kg.<\/p>\n

He said he \u2018heard a loud bang of the bar landing down\u2019.<\/p>\n

Dr Koev\u2019s\u00a0gym\u00a0partner, Dr Damian Laba, said he was using the bench press when he heard a bang, \u2018stood up and turned round and saw Mohammed collapsing on the floor\u2019.<\/p>\n

Dr Laba, who is a consultant anaesthetist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said he \u2018saw blood coming out of (Mr Farraj\u2019s) nose and mouth\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018I realised this is potentially a life-threatening injury and I shouted for help to the Sportspark staff, to the reception,\u2019 he said, adding that he attempted CPR before Mr Farraj died at the scene.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Price, head of sports operations at UEA Sportspark, said: \u2018It appears Mohammed followed another person who had been using that equipment.<\/p>\n

\u2018It appears they had put the stops at the lowest level to perform the exercise they had chosen to perform \u2013 a hip thrust exercise.\u2019<\/p>\n

He said that it appeared a warning about the stops had not been on the Smith machine at the time, but was now in place.<\/p>\n

The inquest was told Mr Farraj had a fast-track induction to the\u00a0gym\u00a0in October 2022.<\/p>\n

His father, Hashim Farraj, said in a statement read by the coroner\u2019s officer that his son was a devout Muslim and \u2018loved life\u2019.<\/p>\n

Mr Farraj said his son grew up at the family home in Stoke-on-Trent, was part of a boxing club and \u2018took his fitness and his health very seriously\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018He liked to go to the\u00a0gym\u00a0and would run 10k in the morning on a regular basis,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

He added that he had been training for an Ironman triathlon event.<\/p>\n

The coroner extended her condolences to the family and friends of Mr Farraj.<\/p>\n

The UEA Sportspark said in a statement after the conclusion of the inquest in Norwich that it was \u2018deeply saddened\u2019 by the death of Mr Farraj.<\/p>\n

\u2018The safety of our\u00a0gym\u2019s\u00a0users is, and always will be, our priority,\u2019 the statement continued.<\/p>\n

\u2018Following this incident, a full investigation took place, by the police and the HSE, who were both satisfied with the arrangements in place.<\/p>\n

\u2018UEA Sportspark has co-operated with fully the coroner\u2019s inquiry and acknowledges the conclusion of the inquest.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mohammed Farraj died in the gym when the bar from a weights machine fell on his head, an inquest has heard A\u00a0medical student died in the gym when the bar from a weights machine fell on his head, an inquest has heard. Mohammed Farraj had been using an aerobic step to perform calf raises while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1363"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1369,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions\/1369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}