Gym and Fitness Center Accidents

When you go to a gym or fitness center, your goal is usually to improve your health and wellness. Unfortunately, some of these businesses are not properly maintained and inspected for dangerous conditions. Due to the heaviness of the equipment used in fitness centers, any kind of dangerous condition can result in serious injuries—the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve. For example, a sauna bench may collapse, or a handlebar may break free from a rowing machine. If you have been hurt due to a gym or fitness center accident, you may wish to consult the experienced Los Angeles premises liability attorneys at Sharifi Firm to evaluate the circumstances of your case and determine whether legal action may be appropriate.

Under California premises liability law, a property owner (such as a gym or fitness center) may be held accountable for injuries to a customer. The harm must have been caused by an unreasonably dangerous condition of which the owner of the premises knew or should have known, and the owner must have failed to repair or issue warnings about the hazard.

Every gym is required to maintain and repair its facilities, including its equipment, so that they are reasonably safe to use. This includes making sure that warning signs are placed near slippery floors or protruding objects. Moreover, gyms and fitness centers should let new patrons know about any safety information that is necessary to know when using certain equipment. Without instructions, accidents resulting from overexertion or the aggravation of existing heart conditions may be more likely on certain machines.

If you suffer injuries due to a gym or fitness center accident, it is important to document what happened through photographs or videotapes and to consult an attorney right away. While there may be surveillance video of what happened, in many cases businesses reuse their videotapes within a short window of time, and as a result an accident victim may lose crucial evidence to support a claim.

Most gyms in California make their customers sign releases of liability when they become members of the gym. It is important to retain an attorney who can analyze the effect of the release. Generally, California residents may expressly agree to release negligence claims against each other by contract or release, and the release will be found valid by the courts unless it contravenes public policy.

In some cases, however, courts have invalidated releases for ordinary negligence when the release is related to a service that is more than a purely private agreement and also affects the public interest. Moreover, while a release can exculpate a gym or fitness center from ordinary negligence, it cannot excuse gross negligence. Gross negligence exists when there is an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of care.

At Sharifi Firm, APC, our Los Angeles lawyers can help you seek to establish liability for a gym or fitness center accident. These cases may be challenging. Evidence may vanish quickly at a gym, and proving that a gym should have known about a dangerous condition can be tricky. Contact our slip and fall attorneys at (866) 422-7222 or use our online form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We also represent accident victims in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Riverside, among other Southern California cities.