Protect Your Gym From Frivolous Lawsuits And Unnecessary Injuries

If you run a gym, then you understand that one of the big issues that you face as a business owner is customer injuries. While this is sometimes unavoidable, there are other instances that are preventable. It's also a good idea to be ready for any lawsuits by being proactive and having the correct contacts set up. Below are three things you should do to help protect your business from lawsuits.

Limit Dangerous, Improvised Exercises

Some gyms have banned certain types of exercises (the deadlift, for instance, is a banned lift in a certain popular gym chain). That was done more for the atmosphere and comfort of other patrons (those who are intimidated by power lifters or bodybuilders). However, what you might want to do is have your employees patrol the gym and stop people from doing dangerous, improvised exercises. These might be anything from the crossfit bro who decides to stack a tower of steps to attempt a lateral jump (and in doing so might fall and crack his coccyx bone), to show-offs who like to do backwards running on treadmills, or other silly exercises. All of these things are very likely to result in an injury, so make sure your staff acts fast to shut it down.

Have Staff Intervene When Instagram/YouTube Stars Try And Film Content

One touchy subject is the filming of video. There are lots of amateur and aspiring fitness stars (both guys and girls) who like to record their session at the gym. While this in theory is fine, there are some trollish types who record other people to make fun of their form or to just ridicule the less-fit people. The last thing you need is one of your customers to see their image online as the butt of a internet joke. It's simply unprofessional, and it should not be tolerated. So, you should have your staff intervene if they notice someone filming other people. If there is a person filming their own exercise for a form check, or to post it to their followers, then that is fine. But if they are observed filming others, they need to be stopped.

Retain A Good Lawyer To Deal With Personal Injury Lawsuits

Unfortunately, even with all the precautions, you will end up with legal problems. Someone who is not trained up properly could try to dead lift too much, strain their back, and you might get sued. Or someone could slip on a mat and blame your staff for not cleaning it properly. You don't want to get served with a lawsuit and have to rush around finding a proper lawyer. The best thing to do is retain a lawyer experienced in dealing with personal injury claims, like Sullivan Cornelius F Attorney. They will be able to consult with you beforehand about what you might need to change regarding your paperawork (what forms customers will have to sign to waive liability) as well as if you should install cameras and other ideas to help gather evidence for potential court cases.


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