Personal Injury Lawyer
Whether exercising in a group class, with a personal trainer, or while working out on your own, the premises may be liable for your injuries and ongoing recovery expenses. You may have a legal case against the gym, and/or the gym owners. In order to have a case, your injury must be severe enough to meet the threshold amount designated by state law. Additionally, the injury must be a direct result from broken machinery, improperly educated trainers, or other forms of liability.
Injuries may occur due to negligence before you even have a chance to work out. A stairwell wet from rain leading to the gym may cause a slip and fall. Improperly racked weights may collapse and injure your foot. A trainer may push your body past a heavy point and inadvertently cause extreme harm, including pinched nerve damage. A spotter may lose their grip when needed, allowing weights to drop on your chest. If the weights simply knocked the wind out of you, recovery would be simple. However, dropped weights can break ribs and lead to other internal injuries.
You may have a legal case for recovery of your physical injury. First and foremost, receive treatment for the injury, and follow up with all medical appointments. Keep track of doctor’s bills, physical therapy, and any loss of work due to the injury that occurred at the gym. An injury must meet a certain threshold to file suit. Therefore, a twisted ankle may not be worth pursuing, while extensive injuries that need surgery would.
Additionally, the injury must have occurred as a direct result of something that the gym had control over – meaning a duty to maintain safety – and failed to do. This may be the wet floors that should have been mopped, an improperly certified trainer, or a distracted spotter, as mentioned above. All of these instances are under the control of the gym, and they are responsible to ensure a duty of care to each person entering their establishment.
If you are injured at a gym or physical fitness facility, contact your personal injury lawyer to discuss your options. Be prepared to discuss the impact your injury has had on your life, whether the injury has caused long-term pain, if the injury has prevented you from employment, or caused emotional grief for you and your family.
