Gym Accident Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation Personal Injury A Accident At The Gym?

By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 21st August 2023. This guide is written to provide helpful information to people who have had an accident in a public gym and who want to find out if they could be eligible to claim compensation. In order for this guide to be relevant to you, you will have been hurt in an accident which took place in a public gym and for which you were not responsible.

Let us look at some gym injury statistics for the UK. According to Leisure DB there are 7,000 gyms and 9.9 million people across the UK with some form of a gym membership, this is nearly 15% of the UK public. For many people, a visit to the gym is an important part of their efforts to stay healthy and active. With numerous different types of gym-based activities available, it is often seen as a safe and even fun way to get in shape or to stay healthy.

However, leisure activities, such as visiting the gym, could potentially expose you to hazards. Gyms may have specialist equipment and heavy weights or weight plates. If a piece of machinery fails or if a user is not correctly instructed in how to use the equipment there is the possibility of serious injury or in the most serious cases even death. As such, it is essential that gyms and their staff follow all applicable health and safety rules.

Staff should also be fully trained in how to instruct people in how to exercise or use equipment in a safe way. Call us on 0800 408 7825.

For further information on how to claim compensation for an accident at a gym, please read the guide below.

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A Guide To Claiming For An Accident In A Public Gym

We have written this guide to provide those who have had an accident in a public gym some of the options available to them and to show how a specialist public interest lawyer could help. We will cover,

  • What counts as an accident in a gym for the purpose of this guide.
  • How much compensation you could be owed, as well as what you could claim compensation for.
  • Examples of accidents or injuries that could happen in a gym.
  • What duty of care you are owed by the gym.
  • Who should be responsible for your safety when using the gym.
  • How a public interest lawyer could help you.

After reading this guide you should have the information necessary to make a more informed decision about what you should do next.

What Is An Accident In A Public Gym?

We begin by looking at what an accident in a public gym is in the context of a personal injury claim. Your accident will need to have taken place in the gym and will need to have been caused by another party. This could be the manufacturer of the equipment, the gym itself, or a member of staff who failed to ensure your safety.

Examples of accidents in public gyms could include those caused by equipment failures or faulty equipment and facilities, members of staff providing you with incorrect instruction or advice, inadequate health and safety procedures, slips and falls on the gym’s premises. Under such circumstances, a gym accident injury claim may be made.

Personal Injury Claims Calculator For Accidents In A Public Gym

If you are claiming compensation for an accident at a gym you could have found this page whilst searching for a gym injury compensation calculator. There are many different types of accidents and injuries that could happen to someone either using a gym or working there. Each individual type of injury (as well as severity) could be awarded a different amount of compensation. This means that until we have discussed your unique injury with you it is difficult to say what you could be awarded.

Gym Accident Claims – Example Compensation Payouts

You may be wondering how much compensation for an accident in a gym you could receive in a successful claim. It is important to first note that to claim, you must have been injured due to negligence. The amount received from gym accident claims can vary depending on many factors, including:

  • How badly the injury has negatively impacted you
  • Whether you’ve suffered multiple injuries from the same act of negligence
  • The severity of the injury itself

The Judicial College Guidelines collates information from previous successful claims in England and Wales to give you a better idea of the general damages compensation you could receive. Solicitors and lawyers use information from these guidelines when assessing your potential compensation payout.

These figures have been taken from the latest guidelines, published in 2022. Please remember that none of these are guaranteed as every claim is different.

 

Injury Description Amount
Neck (a)(ii) Severe – damage to discs in the cervical spine £65,740 to £130,930
Neck (c)(iii) Minor – Full recovery within three months Up to £2,450
Back (b)(ii) Moderate £12,510 to £27,760
Arm (d) Simple forearm fractures £6,610 to £19,200
Shoulder (c) Moderate – Frozen shoulder £7,890 to £12,770
Shoulder (e) Clavicle fracture £5,150 to £12,240
Finger (j) Fractured index finger £9,110 to £12,240
Wrist (d) A complete recovery, but takes longer £6,080 to £10,350
Chest (f) Leading to collapsed lungs £2,190 to £5,320
Chest (g) Rib fractures Up to £3,950

To learn more about what you could receive, please contact us for a free consultation using the details above. Our advisors can inform you of your claim eligibility and a solicitor from our panel could work your case on a No Win No Fee basis.

Types Of Damages You Could Claim For A Gym Injury

In addition to claiming compensation for your injuries, such as those which we have looked at in the personal injury claims calculator, there could be other forms of damages which you could claim damages for. Factors which could be taken into account are:

  • Various expenses such as travel expenses, these could be the costs of getting to a medical appointment or help to pay for things in your daily life.
  • Lost of earnings – This could cover and compensate you for income that you either have or will lose.
  • The cost of medical treatment which you have already paid for, or which you will pay for in the future.

Common Types of Gym Injury

There are various types of injuries you could suffer in a gym accident. These include:

  • A slip, trip or fall could result in broken bones. For example, a wet floor without warning signs could result in a broken wrist from trying to break a fall. Additionally, cluttered walkways and trailing cables can result in injuries from tripping accidents.
  • Crush injuries could occur from poor training on how to use equipment or inadequate maintenance.
  • A head injury could occur due to falling weights.
  • Poor instruction during personal training or group exercise classes can cause various injuries, including broken bones, sprains and tears.

However, you must remember in order to have a valid personal injury claim, you must be able to prove that you suffered your injury due to a relevant third party breaching their duty of care.

To see whether you could be eligible to receive compensation for your gym injury, you can contact our advisors. They can assess your eligibility to claim and if it seems like you have a valid case, you could be passed onto one of the No Win No Fee lawyers from our panel.

Slips And Falls In A Gym

People could suffer injuries caused by slips and falls at the gym in a number of different areas. These could include slips and falls in the car park, the entranceway or lobby, the shower or changing room facilities, when using a treadmill or whilst walking around the gym.

Potential hazards which could lead to a slip or a fall at a gym could be misplaced equipment, mats, spilled liquids.

Accidents And Injuries When Using Weights Or Machinery

If you were injured at a gym whilst using machinery or free weights you could be able to make a gym injury lawsuit. Many gyms will have a variety of different free weights such as dumbbells, weight plates and exercise machines. If weights or machinery are not well maintained or kept in a good state of repair, people could be injured. This is why gyms have a duty of care to ensure that weights and machinery are well maintained for people to use.

Could I Claim Compensation If My Injury Was Caused By Faulty Equipment?

Can I sue a gym if I get hurt? When using a gym people could be injured whilst using either free weights or pieces of equipment, such as exercise machinery. If you were injured due to the facilities, weights or machinery, who is responsible for what happened to you being injured at a gym may be dependent on how the accident happened. If you were injured whilst using facilities that turned out to be faulty you could be able to claim.

The occupier of the premises and the gym (if different parties) have to comply with various articles of health and safety legislation, such as the Occupiers Liability Act and the Health and Safety at Work Act. These acts may or may not be applicable in cases where the victim worked at the gym or was a customer.

If the equipment is faulty, the party responsible could be the gym or it could also be the manufacturer of the gym equipment. If you were injured you could be eligible to claim damages.

Could I Claim Compensation If My Injury Was Caused By Poor Instruction?

When you first sign up to use a gym you should have a member of staff to show you around the gym. This gym induction or introduction should show new users around the gym and its equipment as well as facilities which they may use. People should be shown how to use equipment in a safe way. If you were not shown how to use equipment or were provided with poor instruction and were hurt at the gym as a result, you could be able to make a public place accident claim against the gym’s public liability insurance.

You could also be able to make a public injury claim if you were injured after receiving poor instruction from a personal trainer. The trainer also should take account of any injuries which you have when instructing you on how to exercise in a safe way. They must instruct you in how to exercise in a way so that you do not injure yourself. If you were provided with an exercise program or inadequate instruction which caused you to be injured, you could be able to make a gym lawsuit with a personal injury lawyer.

Workplace Accidents In A Public Gym, Could I Claim?

If you work at a gym you have the right to be provided with a safe and secure working environment. Employers have a duty of care to provide you with the right personal protective equipment to be able to carry out your job. They also have a responsibility to ensure that you are properly trained in how to carry out your job.

If your employer has provided you with neither the right training nor the right equipment to safely carry out your duties, and if you were injured as result of this, you could be able to claim compensation. This is because it may be able to be shown that the employer was negligent in their duty of care to you as an employee.

Who Is Responsible For My Safety?

According to the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the party occupying premises legally has a duty of care to ensure the safety of those who work there. They also have a duty of care to ensure the safety of those using the gym and its facilities. This includes the full property of the gym, both inside and outside the gym. In this case, this could be the party occupying the gym, not necessarily the party who owns the gym.

Parties that could bear some responsibility or liability for an accident include the following;

  • The occupier of the gym premises. This could be the party operating the gym or even the local authority. They could be responsible for people’s safety and security whilst at the gym.
  • An instructor at a gym. Members of staff at a gym, such as gym instructors, could be responsible for providing instructions to gym users. Instructors should have the relevant training and qualifications to ensure users are instructed in a safe way.
  • The operator of the gym must ensure that all instructors are fully accredited, trained and have the relevant qualifications.

If any of these parties act in a negligent way you could be able to sue the gym for your accident in a public gym.

If you were injured in a public place, such as a gym, assessing who the liable party was and whether you could claim compensation may not be easy to do. There are instances where the occupier may be at fault and others where a manufacturer of a piece of equipment was at fault. There could also be instances where a member of staff was liable for your accident. Determining liability can depend upon whether the gym’s occupier has done all that they could to ensure people’s safety.

To understand who is responsible and where gym injury liability lies, talk to a specialist personal injury lawyer today.

Could I Claim Compensation Even If I Signed A Waiver Or Disclaimer?

Gyms may often ask their customers to sign a waiver. When a facility asks you to sign a gym waiver in the UK, this may be seen by some as an attempt to absolve the gym of any responsibility if a customer is injured on their premises.

An accompanying act may also include a new customer being given an induction to the gym and told how to safely use the equipment present. Health and safety procedures such as these are paramount in a gym, as those who utilise it can sometimes exert themselves to the limit of their abilities. This means that the risk of injury can be higher than in other environments.

However, the customer may not be in complete control of their safety when using the gym. For example, some of the equipment may be faulty or poorly maintained.

Alternatively, in a gym, crash mats may be required in certain areas to reduce the impact in case of a fall, or during particularly strenuous activities. If they are none present, then injuries that may have only been minor may turn out to be more severe than if gym crash mats were available.

So poor guidance from staff, faulty equipment, and/or an absence of safety features such as crash mats, can all be examples of negligent behaviour on behalf of the staff. Therefore, you may still be able to make a claim on the gym’s insurance even if you have signed a gym waiver in the UK.

A gym waiver that attempts to completely prevent you from claiming under any circumstances could be in violation of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Therefore, the waiver may be invalid.

No Win No Fee Claims For Accidents In A Public Gym

A No Win No Fee agreement is a type of agreement used in public liability personal injury claim cases. It is signed between the lawyer and the claimant. It sets out all the terms and conditions through which legal services will be provided to the claimant. It sets out what legal services will be provided and how they will be compensated when the claim is settled.

If you do choose to make a claim in this way, there will not be any additional fees or charges to pay. For additional information on how the type of claim works and how to claim within the applicable personal injury claims time limit talk to a specialist lawyer.

How To Begin A Gym Accident Compensation Claim

The best way to start any public injury claim is to get in contact with an experienced public injury lawyer who has the necessary experience to handle your case. If you do choose to make a claim, you should be aware that in most cases public liability injury claims need to be brought within three years of the accident happening or of you being aware of the injury. There are exceptions to this in some cases, such as those involving children which are handled a little differently.

Personal injury claims for accidents in public places could be complicated to conduct. As such, we do recommend that you seek representation from an experienced public interest and injury lawyer. If you try to claim by yourself, you may find that the defendant does seek legal representation and that without expert help you are not able to claim as much as you could, or at all. By working with a personal injury lawyer, they will help you to get the best possible outcome for your case.

To start a personal injury claim, we recommend that people us today. You can call them at this number 0800 408 7825 or click their link in the references section below. You can also contact us through our website.

References

There are a variety of other public accident claims that our team could help you to claim compensation for. These guides contain additional information about claiming compensation for an accident in a public place.

Public Accident Claims

Have you been injured in a public place? Find out how to make a personal injury claim for how you were harmed in this guide.

Public Transport Accident Claims

In this article, we take a look at how you could claim compensation if you have been hurt whilst using or working for public transport in the UK.

Health And Safety For Leisure Activities

This page from the Health and Safety Executive looks at how to keep people safe whilst participating in leisure activities, such as guidance on how to prevent an accident in a public gym.

Accident In A Public Place – What To Do

This is one of our guides that goes into more detail on public place accidents.

How Is Compensation Calculated

Find out more about how much your settlement could be worth.

What To Do When The Third Party Is Not Admitting Liability

More information on what you can do in this scenario.

Accidental Death Compensation Claims

You may still be able to make a claim on behalf of a deceased loved one.

Herniated Disc Compensation

Our article on the potential value for this type of injury.