Suing a Gym for Negligence: What You Need to Know

Your goal when signing up for a gym or fitness club membership is to improve your health. However, going to the gym can have negative health consequences if you sustain an injury while on the premises.

This will hopefully never happen to you. If it does, though, you may be wondering whether you have grounds to pursue compensation for your medical bills and other losses resulting from your accident by filing an insurance claim or suing the gym for negligence.

The answer? It depends. Although it can sometimes be more difficult to receive compensation when suing a gym than it may be when suing the owners or managers of another type of property, such as a hotel or grocery store, there are still scenarios in which recovering compensation after being injured at a fitness center may be possible.

This overview will answer some of your questions on the topic. That said if you have any reason whatsoever to believe you might be able to secure compensation after an accident at the gym, meet with a lawyer. Our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at Dan Doyle Law Group will be happy to review your case and discuss your legal options.

How a Waiver Can Impact Your Ability to Sue a Gym for Negligence

You assume a certain degree of risk when you decide to use a gym’s facilities. A gym is not the same type of property as a store, movie theater, or other such property. There are many ways to potentially injure yourself at a gym.

For example, perhaps you overestimate your ability to lift a certain amount of weight. You could sustain injuries using a piece of exercise equipment as a result.

In this instance, it would be challenging to recover compensation from the fitness center or their insurer. You essentially knew you could be injured when you decided to use that piece of equipment. It is not the gym’s fault that your accident occurred.

In fact, when you join a fitness center, you may be required to sign a waiver. This serves to protect the gym from liability if you are injured on the premises.

When Can You Sue a Gym for Negligence?

This is not meant to discourage you from taking legal action if you have been injured at a fitness center because ownership or management was careless. Again, a personal injury attorney can explain whether you have grounds to seek compensation for your medical bills and related losses after a gym accident.

You may be able to file a claim or lawsuit if you can show that your accident would not have occurred had the owners or managers of the facility not been negligent. While you do assume a certain degree of risk when you work out at a gym, there are ways you could be injured at a fitness center that are unrelated to the natural risks that going to the gym inherently involves. For example, if the property isn’t monitored for dangerous conditions and maintained diligently, a hazard such as a broken piece of flooring or ceiling material could cause a slip and fall accident, head injury, etc.

Learn more about your case by reviewing it with a Philadelphia personal injury attorney at Dan Doyle Law Group. If you have reason to file a claim, we will provide aggressive representation to help you secure the compensation for which you may be eligible. Contact us online or call us at 215-987-3730 to schedule your free consultation.