How To Make A Gym Accident Claim

By Jade Perry. Last Updated 24th May 2024. You might like to make a gym accident claim if you’ve experienced an injury due to the gym’s negligence. In this guide, learn if you have a potential claim for a gym accident payout.

To claim compensation, you must be able to prove you were owed a duty of care. In addition, you must be able to prove it was breached and this breach was what caused your injuries. We examine what this means while looking at examples of injuries that could occur in a gym. Also, we explore how gym accidents could happen.

We examine examples of potential compensation for injuries that could occur in a gym or fitness centre. In addition, we provide examples of what costs you could recover as part of your claim.

If you decide to sue the gym for your injuries, you might find the process easier with a No Win No Fee solicitor. We look at what it really means to hire legal representation under a No Win No Fee arrangement.

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Can I Claim Compensation For A Gym Accident?
Calculating Compensation Payouts In Gym Accident Claims
What Accidents And Injuries Could Happen In A Gym?
How Can I Prove My Gym Accident Claim?
Make A Gym Accident Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
More Information On Making A Personal Injury Claim

Can I Claim Compensation For A Gym Accident?

If you’ve experienced an injury at a gym, you might be wondering how to claim accident compensation. Firstly, you will need to prove you were owed a duty of care. For a gym accident, you are owed a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

The duty of care must have been breached. This breach must have caused you an injury if you would like to claim for an accident at a gym. We examine the duty of care in more detail later on in this article.

Contact our advisors to discuss how negligence resulted in your injuries.

How Many Years After An Accident Can I Claim?

Personal injury claims have a typical time limit of three years to start a claim under the Limitation Act 1980. This is from the date your injury becomes apparent or you gain knowledge that negligence at least contributed to your injuries.

Certain exceptions to the time limit apply. If you are under the age of 18 when the injury occurs, you have three years from your 18th birthday to begin your claim. However, a litigation friend could claim on your behalf before your 18th birthday.

You may lack the mental capacity to start your gym accident claim. If so, you could have three years to begin your claim from the date of your recovery. Alternatively, a litigation friend can claim on your behalf if you lack mental capacity.

Our advisors could help you begin your claim before the personal injury claims time limit runs out.

Calculating Compensation Payouts In Gym Accident Claims

Compensation awarded for successful gym accident claims may consist of two different heads of loss. These are known as general and special damages.

General damages is a head of claim that compensates you for the physical and emotional effects of your injuries resulting from a gym accident. Here are some examples of the factors that will be looked at when this head of claim is being valued:

How your quality of life has been affected. For instance, if a piece of heavy machinery fell on you at the gym and left you with permanent injuries, you may not be able to do activities that you once loved, such as biking.
If you can recover from your injuries, how long this is expected to take.
How severe your pain has been.

Usually, claimants are asked to attend a medical assessment by an independent expert during the claims process. If you do have an independent medical assessment, the reports from this can help determine how much your general damages payout could be worth.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can also be used to help. This document offers guideline compensation brackets for a multitude of different injuries.

H3 – Guideline Compensation Table

Below are some types of injuries that could possibly be suffered after a gym accident. Below are also the JCG’s guideline compensation brackets for each injury. Except for the first figure, all figures are from the JCG.

However, none of these amounts can be guaranteed for any successful gym accident claim, since all circumstances are completely unique.

Injury	Severity of Injury	Potential Compensation Payout	Notes
More than one severe injury along with special damages	Serious	Up to and above £500,000	A payout for suffering more than one severe injury along with the expenses of those injuries, such as cosmetic costs and loss of earnings.
Brain damage	Moderate (c) (ii)	£110,720 to £183,190	Moderate to modest intellectual deficit with some epilepsy risk and a greatly reduced ability to work.
Knee	Severe (a) (ii)	£63,610 to £85,100	Constant pain from a leg fracture that has extended into the joint of the knee.
	Moderate (b) (i)	£18,110 to £31,960	Mild disability from dislocation, torn cartilage or meniscus.
Leg	Severe (b) (iii)	£47,840 to £66,920	Serious compound fractures that results in prolonged treatment and instability.
	Less serious (c) (i)	£21,920 to £33,880	Incomplete recovery from fracture or serious soft tissue injury.
Neck	Moderate (b) (i)	£30,500 to £46,970	Severe immediate symptoms that may necessitate spinal fusion from an injury such as a fracture or dislocation.
	Moderate (b) (ii)	£16,770 to £30,500	Wrenching-type or soft tissue injuries resulting in cervical spondylosis.
Shoulder	Serious (b)	£15,580 to £23,430	Dislocation causing pain in the shoulder and neck, plus sensory issues in the forearm.

Special Damages For A Gym Accident Claim

Special damages is the head of claim that compensates you for the financial losses of your injuries resulting from a gym accident. Here are some examples of financial losses which you could possibly be reimbursed for:

Medical expenses. For example, costs for physiotherapy.
Loss of earnings.
Cosmetic costs. For example, if your gym injury has caused scarring, you may need plastic surgery or cosmetic aid to disguise the scars.

If your gym accident claim is successful, you may not receive a payout for special damages, but you will definitely receive a payout for general damages. Therefore, keeping receipts, payslips, invoices, and bank statements as proof of your gym injury’s expenses is crucial.

You can get in touch with us to learn more about compensation for gym accident claims.

What Accidents And Injuries Could Happen In A Gym?

As already mentioned, you are owed a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act. In order to claim for a gym accident, you must be able to prove that the duty of care was breached. Also, you must be able to prove your injuries and it was a breach that caused them.

The occupier of a public place must ensure it is safe for visitors. With a gym, the gym’s owner may conduct equipment checks to ensure the exercise machines are safe for their intended use, for example. You may not be able to claim if you injure yourself through not using the equipment as it was intended to be used.

Examples of Gym Injuries

Broken leg. A broken leg could occur if you trip over clutter, such as a towel in a walkway.
Neck injury. A neck injury could happen due to a broken piece of equipment. For example, a treadmill could be malfunctioning. The gym manager could have been informed and decided to not to implement a course of action, such as putting up an ‘out of order’ sign and instead allow customers to continue to use it.
Nose injury. A broken nose could occur if someone is lifting weights too close to you and they drop them. A gym should provide adequate distance between weight lifting stations.

Causes of Gym Accidents

Fall from a height. A climbing rope, for example, could fray and break.
Slips, trips and falls. Gyms, like other public spaces, should keep walkways dry and free of clutter. They could provide a hook to hang towels securely near the machine you are using, for example.
Faulty equipment. Regularly checked exercise machines could prevent injuries.

Contact our advisors to begin your gym accident claim if you were owed a duty of care and a breach in it caused your injuries.

How Can I Prove My Gym Accident Claim?

You must be able to prove a breach in the duty of care caused your injuries to claim compensation for a gym accident. Steps you take following your injury may strengthen your gym accident claim.

You could:

Seek medical attention. Proof of your injury could come from medical records.
Request CCTV footage. It is within your rights to request footage of yourself.
Note witness contact details. Statements could be given at a later date.
Seek legal advice. No Win No Fee solicitors could ease the claims process. For example, they could help gather evidence or witness statements.

Make A Gym Accident Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

A personal injury claim could be expensive with upfront solicitor fees. You could hire a No Win No Fee solicitor instead. No Win No Fee solicitors use a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Under a CFA, you do not pay an upfront solicitor’s fee. Also, a solicitor’s fee isn’t paid at all if the claim is unsuccessful. The solicitor will take a success fee that is capped by law from your award.

Get Advice On A Gym Accident Claim

Free legal advice is available from our advisors. They could provide you with an estimate of the damages you could claim. In addition, they could discuss what costs you could recover. They can also discuss what evidence you could use to help your claim. Our advisors are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Our panel of personal injury solicitors could look at your claim if it seems eligible.

Begin your gym accident claim today:

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More Information On Making A Personal Injury Claim

The following links might prove helpful:

Plus more guides:

Learn When You Could Make A Gym Accident Claim

Advice On Making a Gym Accident Claim