» Insurance Claims
“It is now much more
commonplace for people to look for a negligent party when they are injured in a fitness club. We’ve seen extreme cases such as a person, new to a gym, attempting to sue the club because of muscle pain the day after a first session with a trainer.”
April Pittendreigh claims manager
• Ensure staff members are able
to change their communication style to suite each member’s age, physical ability, etc. If English isn’t a member’s first lan- guage, consider including a translator or family mem- ber for the first few exer- cise sessions. • Agree upon reasonable
expectations and outcomes. For example, inform club members that it is not fea- sible or healthy to lose 20 pounds in one month.
equipment “We see incidents involv-
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Could one of these real-life scenarios happen at your club?
• In a very popular group exercise
class, a club squeezed in 40 bodies rather than the maximum of 20. Due to the overcrowding, a member sustained a serious shoulder injury when she fell during a complex high-intensity por- tion of the class.
• When the chemicals were improp-
erly balanced in a club pool, several members sustained lung injuries and sued the club.
• A club purchased two new rowing
machines and squeezed them into the same space allotted to its other rowing machines. Over time the machines all moved slightly out of place. A member using one rowing machine was struck by another member’s oar and fractured a bone in her skull.
32 Fitness Business Canada May/June 2015
while exercising on their own or under the direction of a fitness professional. These members may exercise too vig- orously or improperly and then sus- tain a back or neck injury or a pulled muscle. “Of course there are two sides to every story,” says Pittendreigh, not- ing that poor communication is often the culprit in these situations. “While a member might claim the warm up was too short or the weights that were too heavy, a personal trainer may claim that she asked the client to warm-up before the session and that the client was fine with the weights at the time.”
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THE SOLUTION: • Be sure that all of your fitness pro-
fessionals are certified. • Mentor new hires with a manager
or senior staff member before allowing them to work independently so they are aware of the standard of compe- tency and communication style you require.
THE CLAIM: Bodily injury This claim can result when members injure themselves
THE CLAIM: Faulty equipment or misuse of
ing stitches all the time,” says Pittendreigh. “For example, if someone is pedalling a bike and the pedal falls off, the met- al spikes can gouge their legs.” Treadmills and cables snapping
on resistance machines can also cause devastating injuries. “For example, a new member may get off the treadmill and leave it running by mistake. If an- other member steps on it but doesn’t notice that it’s running because he’s texting on his phone, the result can be broken bones or a concussion.”
THE SOLUTION: • Implement a regular equipment
maintenance routine performed by in- house staff or an external company. • Make equipment safety checks a
formal responsibility of every fitness staff member. • When a club member or a staff-
er notices an equipment issue, shut down the piece immediately. “If a court learns that you were aware of a com- plaint a week before an accident and you didn’t take steps to repair it, you’re done,” says Pittendreigh. FBC
Barb Gormley is the senior editor of Fitness Business Canada, a freelance writer and editor, and a certified personal trainer. Contact her at
www.barbgormley.com.
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