Property and business owners are required to protect all visitors from harm. This is especially true for gym owners. If a patron is injured while at the gym, the owner could be held liable for all injuries and damages. Unfortunately, in many situations the gym owner may allege that the patron contributed to their injuries. When this occurs, a seasoned attorney could help fight against claims of shared fault.
If you or a loved one were injured while at the gym or other health studio, it is best to seek assistance from a local and experienced premises liability attorney. With the help of a Pascagoula gym accident lawyer, you may be eligible to recover compensation for your damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, as well as pain and suffering.
Negligence will play a role only to the extent that an issue is not covered by the gym liability waiver or the gym owner was negligent in the maintenance of its equipment or the premises in question. The gym owner has a duty to keep the premises safe from any defects or hazards and must have an opportunity to repair the defect or hazard in question.
Notices are meant to warn users of any dangers of using the premises. Those warnings if posted appropriately and the user of the premises had an opportunity to read or notice the warnings posted will be to the benefit of the gym owner in those circumstances. Most of the time, the gym user will be given a copy of these types of warnings.
Usually, before someone joins a gym or fitness center, there is a liability waiver that is signed. That liability waiver usually releases the gym or fitness center from any liability due to injuries or deaths that occur on the property or while using the equipment.
The law in this regard is that those liability waivers will generally stand if the person was using equipment in a reasonable manner in which it was intended. However general liability can be established if there were danger that could not have been appreciated by the gym user, or there were danger or hazards created on the site or on premises by the gym owner. These are very specific carved out sections of the law and are strictly applied in favor of the gym owner in most circumstances.
Gym accidents occur frequently. However, liability against the gym owner is extremely rare given that every gym user or most gym users will sign a liability waiver. Furthermore, gyms are given some leeway in liability because the users appreciate the dangers of using a gym, meaning, the hazards should be obvious to a gym user.
If gym users operate equipment and use the gym in an appropriate manner and are injured, then the gym owner will generally not be held liable. However, if there is a defect on the gym premises or a danger that was created and not corrected by a gym owner, then there could be a potential liability for an injury that was not the fault of the injured person.
Foreseeability is always an element of any negligence case. Foreseeability has very specific parameters established by the law, but the general definition is that the accident in question must be foreseeable based on the use at the time of the accident. For instance, if an equipment accident occurred injuring a gym user, but yet the accident was completely unforeseeable under the circumstances, then that gym owner may not be held liable for an injury. Most accidents are foreseeable but there certainly there are rare cases where accidents occur as a result of an unforeseeable circumstance.
If liability can be established against a gym owner, then all of the typical damages could be recoverable. Those are compensatory damages, which are economic in nature and non-economic.
Economic damages are those damages which are easily calculated such as medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses incurred as a result of the injury. Non-economic damages are generally those pain and suffering-type damages that are not easily quantifiable.
Due to the heavy machinery, gym accidents can occur often and cause horrific injuries. If you were severely injured in a gym, let a skilled attorney help you seek compensation for all of your damages. A dedicated Pascagoula gym accident lawyer could investigate the cause of your injuries and help you hold the careless party accountable. Call today to get started on your case.