It’s rumored that over 50 million people in the U.S. hold a gym membership, and a good portion of those people probably live in Southern California, where fitness is life. Even if it’s true that only about ⅓ of gym members actually use their membership, there are still a lot of people using gym facilities to get in shape and increase their overall health. Unfortunately for about 55,000 people annually — who are treated in the ER each year after “falling off exercise balls, getting snapped in the face by resistance bands, dropping heavy weights on their toes, tripping over jump ropes or flying off treadmills”, these gym and fitness centers can be the source of serious injuries. Gym goers can also be injured by non-workout amenities such as scalding saunas, unclean pool areas, and slippery bathroom floors, leading to a potential premises liability lawsuit. If your injury was caused by or contributed to by the negligence of your gym (negligence can include a failure to maintain and repair equipment, warn and educate users about the equipment, and manage the foot traffic at each facility during peak hours of the day), you need to reach out to a skilled personal in jury lawyer in Los Angeles.
As a result of these accidents, many innocent gym-goers end up in worse shape than before they started working out; with serious personal injuries that range from back and neck injuries, muscle strains, and broken bones to death from cardiac arrest. Many of these injuries require immediate medical treatment, as well as long-term medical care and rehabilitation — all at a cost that exceeds the ever-increasing fees of gym memberships.
Why are there so many accidents at the gym? One theory is that gyms tend to have high and low seasons of activity and therefore hire temporary workers to fill their needs. These temp employees, and oftentimes even regular staff members, are not properly trained or particularly skilled in the job. Lack of knowledge or understanding of how to properly execute the responsibilities of one’s job can lead to catastrophic injuries and it is the duty of the gym to train and educate their employees.
Working out is hugely beneficial to people and their overall health, so long as the gym they belong to takes its role seriously. Los Angeles gym facilities owe a duty of care to their members to have a safe, well-kept environment with properly maintained equipment and to provide training and instruction to users, when needed. If you have been injured by gym negligence, do not be embarrassed to report your injuries. There is no reason that you must take on all of financial and emotional burdens associated with serious personal injuries yourself.
For more information on how to move forward with protecting your legal rights after suffering an injury at the gym that was a result of gym negligence, contact the aggressive Los Angeles trial lawyers at BIKLAW today.