Hidden Accidents at the Gym

A Gym can be a dangerous place. Ironically, you may be seriously injured while endeavoring to improve your physical well-being, unaware that your Gym owner is probably less concerned about your health than their bottom line. We all know that today’s gyms pack as many pieces of equipment into their facilities as possible. The vision of rows of treadmills and elliptical trainers stretching as far as the eye can see makes selling memberships easier. The notion that a machine will always be available whenever you arrive is integral to the sales pitch. Increasingly, these machines are packed ever more densely into Gym spaces for their visual impact on sales.

In seeking to maximize profits, Gym owners often ignore industry safety standards concerning the proper distance between pieces of equipment in favor of increasing the perceived capacity of their facility. Placing machines side by side with insufficient spacing, may force a person to dangerously mount/dismount the machine, or trip walking in due to insufficient space provided between the machines. The proper spacing becomes even more crucial upon completion of exercise when one’s balance may be compromised by exhaustion.

The positioning of elliptical and treadmill exercise machines must comply with the ADA (Americans with Disability Act). Unfortunately, many gym owners completely disregard the ADA, the ASTM’s recommended standards for access, passage around, and emergency dismount and the manufactures placement and spacing recommendations. Following these safety guidelines allow not only for routine safe mounting and dismounting of the equipment but also for emergency dismounts. The clearance behind a treadmill is also vital to avoid severe injury in the event of a violent accidental rear dismount of a treadmill.

Gyms cannot sacrifice your safety for their profits, and their business models where their membership and the size of their facility are so disproportional. If you or someone you know was injured in a gym accident, please feel free to call us to discuss whether we can help get fair compensation for those injuries.