Can You File a Gym Injury Lawsuit? How a Liability Waiver Affects Your Case

What can you do if you’re hurt by a negligent fitness center? You may be able to win your case, despite signing a release of liability.

More than 4 million people end up in the emergency room each year for injuries from sports and recreation exercises.¹

Today’s fitness clubs, exercise studios, and yoga centers are an important part of daily life for many Americans. When you sign up for a gym membership, somewhere in the fine print is a section that says you’re on your own if you get hurt. Is it binding? Maybe not.

Here we discuss when you can file a claim or lawsuit for gym injuries. Learn about liability waivers and what they mean for your personal injury claim.

Assumption of Risk and Liability Waivers

To stem the tide of rising insurance claims and lawsuits, most gym owners now require members to sign agreements to accept the risk of injury. These membership agreements include a “waiver of liability,” meaning you won’t hold the gym responsible if you’re hurt.

Assumption of Risk

When it comes to gym injury claims, one of the first arguments you’ll hear from the insurance company has to do with assumption of risk, meaning you knew you could get hurt at the gym and chose to join anyway.

That’s true, to the extent that you chose to engage in strenuous physical activity. If you pull a muscle lifting free weights, it’s not the gym’s fault. However, you probably didn’t expect the risk of injury from faulty exercise equipment, broken glass, slippery floors, or other hazards.

To knowingly assume risk, you must have an idea of the potential harm that may happen if you go ahead with an activity.

There are two ways you can agree to take a risk:

  1. Implied assumption doesn’t involve a written agreement, but your willingness to engage in a risky activity is shown by your words or behavior. For example, if you’re scalded after ignoring the “Out of Order” sign on the sauna, it can be argued that you knew it was dangerous and used the sauna anyway.
  2. Express assumption means you signed an agreement that says you fully understand the risks involved and you promise not to seek compensation if you get hurt.

Your express assumption of risk at the gym is detailed in the liability waiver section of your membership agreement.

Understanding Liability Waivers

Liability essentially means responsibility. Waive is a legal term meaning to surrender or give up. Signing a membership agreement with a waiver of liability means you agree to give up the right to blame the gym if something happens to you.

Liability waivers are legal contracts that prevent members and their guests from filing any legal action against gym ownership or management.

A typical waiver of liability has language like this:

“In consideration of my use of the exercise equipment and facilities provided by the company, I expressly agree and contract, on behalf of myself, my heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, that the company and its insurers, employees, officers, directors, and associates, shall not be liable for any damages arising from personal injuries (including death) sustained by me, or my guest in, on, or about the premises, or as a result of the use of the equipment or facilities, regardless of whether such injuries result, in whole or in part, from the negligence of the company and its employees, agents, servants and associates….”

These waivers contain additional language that makes them all but ironclad. To be able to use the gym equipment and facilities, potential members must complete and sign several forms.

Don’t expect the gym’s employee to point out the liability waiver before you sign on the dotted line. Even if you ask about the waiver, the gym employee isn’t likely to be able to explain all the legal jargon.

Many gym injuries result from negligent management and poorly maintained equipment. In these cases, it seems logical that gym-goers would have the right to file insurance claims if they’re injured on the premises. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Gym membership agreements and forms, including the waiver of liability language, are written by contract lawyers who are paid to protect the interests of the gym.

It’s your responsibility to read and understand any contract or agreement before you sign it, no matter if it’s a paper document or an online form. Before you decide to join your local health club or gym, read the waiver of liability. Ask for a copy to take home and study.

Most people don’t hesitate to sign up for gym memberships without trying to understand the “fine print.” They can’t imagine ever getting seriously injured at the gym. Until they do.

Overcoming a Waiver of Liability

When you’ve suffered serious injuries because of a gym’s negligence, don’t give up.

With strong evidence and a skilled personal injury attorney, you can pursue fair injury compensation, despite the waiver of liability.

There are two legal arguments your attorney might use to overcome a signed liability waiver:

  1. Confusing Language: Your attorney may be able to convince a jury that the waiver language was “vague and ambiguous,” meaning the wording was so confusing that a reasonable person could not understand it.
  2. Gross Negligence: Gross negligence means your injuries happened because the gym showed a reckless disregard for customer safety. Gross negligence is much more serious than a simple mistake by a gym employee. It means the gym made a deliberate choice that knowingly put customers in danger.

Case Example: Wrongful Death Due to Gym’s Gross Negligence

The family of a 65-year-old man who suffered a heart attack and died at a local gym filed a lawsuit against the gym for wrongful death, alleging gross negligence for not having an automatic external defibrillator (AED) on the premises.

Attorneys for the estate of Marc Palotoy and his adult children argued it was grossly negligent for a gym that sells memberships to men and women of all ages not to have an AED onsite, as required by state law.

The gym’s insurance company argued that Mr. Palotoy had signed a waiver of liability, releasing the gym from any responsibility for his death, and was working with a personal trainer who was not an employee of the gym.

More than a year after the lawsuit was filed, the gym settled with Mr. Palotoy’s estate and his family members.

6 Actions to Take After a Gym Injury

What you do after a slip and fall, faulty equipment accident, or any other type of injury at the gym can make or break your personal injury case.

1. Report the Injury to Management

It’s critical that you report your injury to the gym’s staff, preferably a manager, as soon as it happens. No one will believe your back injuries happened at the gym if you let hours or days go by.

Request contact information for the gym’s insurance company. Also ask how to reach the gym’s corporate office or parent company offices.

2. Get Prompt Medical Attention

If you are badly hurt, let them call an ambulance. If you don’t go straight to the hospital from the gym, you must have a medical evaluation as soon as possible. Tell your medical providers when, where, and how you were injured.

Refusing or delaying medical treatment gives the insurance company another reason to deny your claim. They’ll argue your injuries didn’t happen at the gym.

3. Take Pictures

Use your phone to take as many pictures of the accident scene as possible. Photographs and videos of the broken equipment, wet floors, or whatever caused your injury can be very compelling evidence.

4. Find Helpful Witnesses

Try to talk to anyone at the gym who saw you get hurt, or who can verify the problem that caused your accident. Witness statements are valuable forms of evidence. Ask witnesses for full names and contact information. If you find a witness willing to write down what they saw, ask them to sign and date their statement.

5. Write It All Down

Keep detailed notes including the names and job descriptions of everyone you talked to at the gym. Make notes about every communication you have with the insurance company or gym management. Write out exactly how you were injured at the gym, and what happened afterward.

6. Collect Expense Records

You’ll need to request copies of your medical records to show the extent of your gym injuries. Keep copies of all your medical bills and receipts for out-of-pocket expenses.

If you miss work, get a statement of lost wages from your employer.

Dealing with the Insurance Company

Getting the name of the gym’s insurance company can be difficult. In most cases, gyms have no legal obligation to give you their insurance information. If you’re lucky enough to reach the insurance company, there’s only a small chance they will consider your claim without you filing a lawsuit.

Insurance companies love waivers of liability. Waivers give them the power to deny injury claims. Once you sign the membership contract and liability waiver, you’re pretty much on your own.

The insurance company may be willing to pay a nuisance value to make you go away, but you’ll have to sign a release giving up the right to seek any more compensation. If you’re fully recovered from minor bruises or sprains, taking a small settlement may be the way to go.

Severe injury claims are another story. If you or a loved one have been seriously injured by the gross negligence of a gym or fitness center, take action. Don’t hesitate to get the professional legal advice you need to protect your interests.

Most law firms offer a free consultation to injury victims. If you decide to hire a personal injury lawyer, most will agree to take your case on a contingency fee basis, meaning the lawyer’s fees only get paid if they settle your claim or win your personal injury lawsuit.

Your attorney can get the gym’s insurance information, and identify other potentially liable parties, like an exercise equipment manufacturer. There’s no obligation, and it costs nothing to find out what an experienced personal injury attorney can do for you.

Gym Accident and Injury Questions