Who Is Liable if I Get Injured at a Gym in Illinois?

 Posted on May 28, 2024 in Personal Injury

Injuries among gym-goers are common. In 2021, there were an estimated 409,224 injuries from exercise equipment. Such injuries included:

• Bone fractures

• Strains and sprains

• Cuts

• Bruises and contusions

Fitness centers are full of heavy weights, robust machines, and people moving at fast speeds. Sometimes, people are injured by exercise equipment because they are not familiar with how to use it. Other times, people are familiar with how to use the equipment but the machine is faulty.

If you have been injured at the gym, you may have a premises liability claim. However, this will depend on how well your attorney can prove the other party’s negligence.

How Do I Prove the Gym Was Negligent?

Negligence means that the party failed to take a reasonable amount of care to avoid an injury. If you want to claim damages from a gym where you were injured, you need to prove that the facility was negligent. For example, you would need to show that you were injured because of a defect in the machine. Furthermore, you would also need to show that the gym knew about the defect or should have known about it from a routine inspection.

Keep in mind, however, that your success in claiming damages also depends on your own negligence.

What if I Was Partly at Fault?

Illinois is a comparative negligence state. This means that under the law, you cannot sue another party for negligence if you were at least 50 percent negligent as well. In other words, the other party must be mostly at fault for your injury or you do not have a claim. 

Furthermore, even if you were less than 50 percent at fault, any compensation you might receive for your claim decreases as your portion of fault increases. So, if the other party can prove you were 25 percent at fault, you will lose 25 percent of the compensation you would have received.

If you bring an injury claim against a gym for an injury, be aware that your actions will be analyzed as well. If the gym can prove that you did not know how to use the equipment properly — even if it was a defective machine — you might be considered to be 50 percent at fault.

Contact a Cook County, IL Premises Liability Lawyer

Because of comparative negligence laws, claiming damages from a gym for a personal injury can be tricky. If you used a defective machine but you also did not know how to use that machine, you can walk away with little to no compensation. That is why you should seek an experienced Elk Grove Village, Illinois premises liability attorney.

At Kaiser Law, we believe in taking our clients’ personal injuries personally. Our attorneys have recovered over $100 million in damages for our clients, and now it is your turn. Call 630-274-4400 for a free consultation and to start building your case today.