Workers Compensation: Your Safety Net

While the most obvious benefit of working out in a gym is good health, gyms don't always provide the healthiest atmospheres. You can see that gyms are chock-full of unhealthy situations and opportunities for injuries, when you consider wet floors, heavy weights and confusing equipment. If you have been injured at your gym, you may be wondering if the gym could be at fault. Read on to learn more about gym injuries and how you could receive money damages for your injury.

The Waiver of Liability

Among the stack of paperwork you signed on the day you officially joined your gym was very likely a waiver of liability. This document is pretty standard and if you questioned it you were probably told that your signature was a requirement of becoming a member of the gym. If you read it, you would have noted that the gym is attempting to absolve themselves of any responsibility for injuries sustained while visiting the gym. Your signature constitutes a promise on your part not to sue them if you get injured. Normally, there are two different types of waivers: a waiver of negligence and a waiver of total liability.

Waivers of Negligence

This type of waiver is aimed at your behavior, instead of unsafe conditions at the gym. If you break the rules and use the equipment improperly or practice other unsafe behaviors, this type of waiver prevents you from gaining compensation through a suit. For example, if you were running on the wet pool deck and fell down and injured yourself, you may not be able to sue, since a reasonable person would know that area was wet and slippery.

Waivers of Total Liability

Liability can be construed to mean "fault," so this type of all-purpose waiver covers just about any type of cause or injury that could be imagined. The courts have ruled that these types of waivers are too broad and not enforceable, so they have almost no legal standing. For example, these types of injuries point to possible negligence on the part of the gym:

• A poorly sanitized hot tub causing disease in the users.
• A malfunctioning dial on a sauna causing heat-related injuries to users.
• Wet floors outside the pool area with no warning cones, leading to slips and falls.
• Poorly maintained workout equipment malfunctioning and causing injuries.

The mere signing of a waiver should never mean that you cannot sue that facility, whether it be a gym, a recreational facility, a half-marathon race event or anything else. The courts understand that you have a right to a safe environment, no matter the circumstances. If you have been injured while trying to work out, contact a personal injury attorney like Josh D. Tucker, P.C., regardless of any waivers you have signed.