Hi! My name is Sam, and I started this blog to help other injured people. Before you start reading, let me tell you a little about myself. Ten years ago, I slipped on a slice of fruit in a grocery store. My leg slid out from under me, and in a freak twist, it was rendered useless. I could no longer work and struggled with intense pain every day. Luckily, I found an accident and injury attorney who was able to get me the compensation I needed to cover my medical bills and my lost time at work. However, while I waited for the settlement to come through, I had to get creative physically and financially. This blog is dedicated to anyone who is in that limbo position. I hope the posts here help you decide what to do while you wait for the results of your trial.
You go to the gym with the goal of achieving health and fitness, but unfortunately not all gyms create safe workout environments for their members. Workout facilities are rife with opportunities for injuries; heavy weights, tightly spaced equipment, wet areas, malfunctioning equipment, and more all contribute to potentially unsafe situations. If you have been injured in a gym, read on for more information.
When you became a member at your gym, it's very likely that you signed off on a waiver of liability as a requirement for membership. This document has become a standard requirement for joining or participating in many activities, memberships, admissions, events, etc. Many people sign this document without reading it, since they really have no choice if you want to join the gym, but it's never advisable to sign an unread document.
A waiver of liability is a legal document that specifies that, by your signature, you agree that there are certain risks associated with a given activity and that you are acknowledging that the gym is not responsible for any injuries as a result of your use of the facilities, either legally or financially. People who own and manage gyms know they are dangerous places, so these waivers are a method of releasing them from damages caused by injuries.
Are you out of luck if you have been injured at the gym after signing a waiver? Not necessarily. The question of whether or not the waiver is enforceable depends on many issues, including the type of waiver used.
Waivers of negligence usually cover the actions and behaviors of gym members themselves, such as, for example, if you added too much weight to a machine and injured your shoulder as a result. These waivers are, with rare exceptions, completely enforceable by the gym, meaning that you cannot sue for these types of injuries.
A total waiver of liability means that the gym is not responsible for any injuries that occurred as a result of use of the facilities. These types of waivers are not always enforceable, since a court could rule that the terms are too broad and encompassing.
The issue of the waiver not being enforceable is key, because the courts will view waivers for fairness in regard to public safety. For example, a waiver may be ruled unenforceable if the court finds that a facility did not do all it could to ensure the safety of members while at the gym. Some examples of non-enforceability include:
If you have been in injured at your gym, you should not automatically let a waiver of liability deter you from seeking compensation. Waivers are not a license to allow a business to condone an unsafe environment. Contact a personal injury attorney to get more information on how you may be compensated for your injuries.
Share26 May 2015
