Injured at the Gym? Get Free Legal Advice

A gym is expected to keep its visitors safe at all times as far as reasonably possible. If the institution or one of its employees has failed to take reasonable care and a customer has been injured as a direct result, the gym may be judged to have acted negligently and be liable to pay compensation.

Gym memberships in the UK have risen dramatically since the 1980's as our busy lifestyles have placed a premium on physical fitness and time efficiency. Around 10 million UK adults are gym members, and there are roughly 5,000 gyms and fitness centres across the country.

Complicated machines, heavy weights and slippery floors all pose a risk to gym visitors. Gyms are also part of a comparatively unregulated and highly competitive industry where profit maximisation is a constant requirement, sometimes leading to corners being cut in terms of visitor safety. These factors help explain the rise in compensation claims for gym accidents in recent times.

The immediate causes of gym accidents are varied. Gym equipment may be faulty, poorly maintained, dated or unsuitable for a commercial gym. Accidents can occur on treadmills and running machines that malfunction and stop, throwing users off them. Some gyms also attempt to cut corners by providing equipment specifically designed for home rather than commercial use, which will inevitably break if subjected to excessive use. All gym equipment must be in good working order, properly maintained, regularly checked and suitable for the purposes for which it is intended.

New visitors to gyms may be injured if they have not received a proper induction session on how to use gym equipment. Otherwise visitors may receive inappropriate direction from gym instructors either in how to use equipment or the recommended individual training pattern to adopt. This extends to gym classes where an over-zealous instructor may push members too hard causing injury or not allow enough time for participants to warm up.

Slipping accidents commonly occur near swimming pools and in changing rooms where wet floors pose a constant threat of slips and falls. Equipment left lying around in the gym and obstacles or uneven surfaces in reception areas and car parks may cause similar accidents. It is also possible to claim for tripping over dumbbells and other gym equipment. Infections and illnesses may be contracted from spa pools, saunas and steam rooms which are not properly maintained and unsanitary.

A recent client was injured after he was thrown off a moving treadmill at a gym. When he visited the gym it was busy and the overhead light above the treadmill was not working, meaning it was difficult for Mr B to either hear or see that the machine’s conveyor belt was moving at the time he stepped onto it.

Mr B was thrown off the treadmill and landed on the hard floor, fracturing his elbow and tearing muscles in his shoulder. Staff at the gym provided basic first aid and called an ambulance to take Mr B to hospital where he was kept overnight. It took three months for Mr B to recover full mobility in his upper arm, and after receiving no reply to his written complaint to the gym’s parent company, he decided to seek legal advice.

Bartletts Solicitors advised Mr B that he had strong grounds for making a claim against the gym, and agreed to represent him on a no win no fee basis. In our correspondence with the owners of the gym and their insurers, we highlighted the fact that the area of the gym where the treadmill was located was poorly lit at the time of the accident due to the overhead light not working. This meant that it was difficult for our client to see that the treadmill’s conveyor belt was moving.

Furthermore, no member of staff at the gym had noticed that the treadmill was not turned off, and this represented a lack of proper supervision and care and attention for the safety of its visitors. CCTV footage of the accident backed up these arguments, and after a few months we were able to secure an admission of liability from the gym’s parent company with Mr B receiving £4,250 in compensation.

A client of Bartletts Solicitors was injured at his local gym while using a lat pulldown machine. As he was using the equipment, the cable snapped and the metal bar fell down at speed, hitting him hard on the head. Mr N sustained a deep laceration to his head and the wound started to bleed profusely. He was also dizzy and unsteady on his feet following the accident, and he was taken to hospital by ambulance after receiving basic first aid from staff at the gym.

Mr N required multiple stitches in his head, and due to his mild concussion was kept in overnight for observation. He was forced to take a week off work after the accident and lost a substantial amount of earnings during that time. He later decided to seek legal advice after hearing that another member of the same gym had been injured due to a defect with a piece of equipment a few weeks prior to his accident, and because he felt that the gym’s machines were poorly maintained and unsafe.

Mr N subsequently instructed our firm to proceed with a no win no fee compensation claim against the gym chain in question. Writing to the chain’s insurance company, we requested that they provide evidence that the lat pulldown machines at Mr N’s gym were regularly inspected and adequately maintained as per the manufacturer’s suggested schedule.

The fact that they were unable to provide any schedule of inspection and maintenance indicated that the accident was caused by an equipment defect which should have been detected and repaired by the gym before it could pose a significant danger to its visitors. The gym was therefore legally liable for Mr N’s injuries and his subsequent loss of earnings. Within a few months we were able to win an admission of full liability from the gym chain, and Mr N later received a cheque for £2,500 in compensation.

Bartletts Solicitors recently represented a client who was injured after slipping over and injuring himself at the gym. Mr S was a member of a well-known gym chain and was a regular visitor to his local branch. One evening he had just finished a lengthy cardio session, and by his own admission was feeling light-headed when he went out into the corridor to get some water. As he was walking towards the water fountain, he slipped and fell onto the hard floor, fracturing his wrist in two places.

Though the main gym room had anti-slip rubberised flooring, the corridor floor was wood effect laminate, and at the time of the accident was in a wet and slippery condition having been cleaned roughly ten minutes before and not properly dried. Gym staff called an ambulance for Mr S, and he was taken to hospital for treatment. He was in plaster for eight weeks due to his fractured wrist, and only regained full mobility in the joint six months later.

Mr S contacted Bartletts Solicitors after reading about our experience in gym accident claims. After reviewing the circumstances of the accident, we agreed to take on his case on a no win no fee basis. In correspondence with the gym chain’s insurers we argued that firstly, the corridor should have had the same anti-slip rubber flooring as the main gym area, and secondly, that if the gym’s staff had been unable to dry the floor in the corridor immediately after cleaning it, then a wet floor warning sign should have been posted to reduce the risk of a slipping accident.

The wet and slippery state of the floor and lack of warning signs meant that the corridor was unsafe for visitors, and because of this the gym had breached the duty of care it owed to Mr S under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Full liability for Mr S’s injury was subsequently accepted by the gym’s insurers, with our client receiving £3,250 in compensation.

Provided your claim relates to an accident at a gym that has taken place in the last three years, Bartletts can offer you a no win no fee contract to sue a gym. Apart from financial compensation for pain and suffering, you can also claim for loss of earnings, the cost of medical treatment and travel expenses.