Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much time do I have to file a claim for my personal injuries after an accident?”
Fitness centers and gyms are more popular than ever. There are 32,270 fitness centers in the United States, as of July 2021 and more than 73 million people use fitness centers. The fitness industry has enjoyed almost continuous growth until the pandemic. Since the pandemic, fitness centers are getting back to normal with millions of people who have memberships. Injuries during fitness activities are relatively common and may occur for a variety of reasons. If you were hurt due to negligence, you could be owed money for your injuries.
Fitness Equipment Injuries
Many of the injuries that occur during exercising happen with the use of fitness equipment. Injuries can occur due to failure of the equipment caused by poor maintenance or because of manufacturing or design defects. Equipment includes such things as treadmills, rowing machines, exercise bikes, weight machines, and more. The fitness center owner has a duty of care to ensure that the equipment they provide is always in good working order and safe for users. In some cases, equipment malfunction may be due to mistakes made during manufacturing or because of design flaws.
General Injuries at Fitness Centers
General injuries may happen during exercise classes, or simply while working out at the facility. Common examples of general injuries include sprained ankles, pulled muscles, broken bones, back injuries, head injuries, and others. These types of injuries may occur because of negligence on the part of the fitness center owner or manager. North Carolina utilizes the pure contributory negligence rule, which means that if you were at all negligent in the accident, you cannot collect compensation. It is best to meet with an attorney to review the incident and find out whether you are able to proceed with a case.
Who is to Blame for Fitness Center Injuries?
Sometimes an injury happens because you are not paying attention or are doing something incorrectly. However, if an injury happens due to someone’s negligence, they may be liable for the damages. In order for negligence to occur, a person must have known or should have reasonably known that something they did or failed to do could cause harm to another. For instance, if the owner knew that the floor was wet and did not take steps to dry it and someone fell and broke their leg, the owner might be negligent.
Fitness injuries may be due to manufacturer defects, improper maintenance, or failure to take proper care, among others. The type of injury and how it occurred will be key to determining which party or parties were negligent. It is important to note that not all fitness center injuries are caused by someone else’s negligence. An injury can happen due to your own carelessness and is not the liability of the facility owner.
What to Do After a Fitness Center Injury
If you suffered an injury at a fitness center, there are several steps you should take. First, report the injury to the manager and make a report. Gather information such as names of any witnesses who saw the incident as well as the date and time. Always seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Some injuries may not seem serious at first and therefore you may be inclined to wait to see how you feel. However, remember that the longer you wait to see a doctor, the more difficult it will be to prove that your injury happened at the fitness center. Talk to a personal injury attorney to discuss the details of your injury. Your lawyer will review the details of the case and provide guidance.
If you were hurt due to someone’s negligence, do not wait to get legal guidance. Contact our legal team at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to discuss the details of your injury today.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to: Camp Lejeune related injuries, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car, and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life and that the effects often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, are dedicated to helping clients determine their claims’ strength and aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
Negligence | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)
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https://www.freeimages.com/photo/injury-1432459
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