Damn broken equipment at the gym

[Padawan]

I was at the gym this evening, and I was returning my weights to the weight tree after finishing some bar curls. I load the 45lb plate on the tree, and the whole damn row of 3 25lb plates comes down on my leg. The damn tree was bent, and the 45lb plate rattled the tree, causing the 25's to all slide off the rack. Now I have this 2" bump on my shin, blood all over the place, and my fucking foot is sore as hell. Cheap ass gym, broken spring collars, bent trees, bent bars, what the hell am I paying for? Did I mention it is the only gym in town? I swear if I screwed up my leg, I'm going to be a rich man. Buy my own freaking gym...

[Little Jonah]

thats bullshit man take it too em in court then you can build your own gym haha

[Padawan]

Kinda sucks. My shin still has a 2" diameter welt, with about a 2" cut down the bone. My foot has a big ass lump from where the plate landed. I might go in and see a doc, just to make sure it is ok. I could hardly sleep last night because everytime the blanket touched my leg, it hurt like a bitch.

[adaptations]

could be a contusion.....id be pissd.mention something to the owener anfd tell him/her your pissed off, and you want a lifetime membership for free otherwise your taking them to court.....theyll be more than happy...

[skid]

THEIR liability insurance should be paying for your doctor's bills - did they not notice what happened?

lifetime membership sounds fair, or a nice lawsuit can set you up with your OWN place

[Padawan]

After it happened, I went over and talked to the manager. I was pretty pissed, and showed him the bent rack and my bleeding leg, and he said he would get the rack fixed. I was thinking about my workout, and didn't think to ask for an insurance claim form, but I went in later (after my wife yelled at me for not getting one) and talked to the night manager. I'm not one to jump in and sue someone, but they have several pieces of broken equipment in use, and somebody might really get hurt. Had it been 45lb plates, I probably would have had a pretty serious injury. I supposed to go back in after work today and see the guy. I'll make them pay for the doctor visit, and maybe something for the big ass scar.

[palme]

LOL
Padawan im sorry you hurt yourself but all this sue BS! makes me sick to my stomach! Sure make him pay for the doctors visit etc it´s his fault you got injured! But it wasnt life threatening was it?

It´s like the morons that sue the cigarette companies for having cancer...

[Padawan]

Palme,

Like I said, I am not one to be sue happy, and I don't agree with the morons that sue for lung cancere after smoking for 40 years. My point is that the gym has several pieces of broken equipment that they don't seem to care about. As the owners of the gym, is it not their responsibility to periodically check the equipment for proper function and repair as needed? The weight tree is bent from use and/or age, and should be replaced. Instead, they continued to use it, and I was injured by the faulty equipment. Sure, I could probably sue them for a lot of money, considering the amount of money companies are settling out of court these days. I'll be walking away with about a 2" scar down my leg because of his neglect. Is it life threatening? No. Is it poor business? Yes. Should he lose millions? No, not all. I never said he should have to pay me a ton of money. Of course, he didn't apologize, either, and if he performed his duties as owner of the gym, I would not be in this situation.

Interesting debate for sure. I'd be interested to hear what other people think about this.

[palme]

I said it was his fault didnt i?

And i cant belive that he did not apologize, maybe i should forget my last post and tell you to sue

[Padawan]

Maybe he has a good source...

[Vegas Kid]

Originally posted by palme
LOL

It´s like the morons that sue the cigarette companies for having cancer...

His case is nothing like what you're talking about. If he would have tried to lift 700lb and busted his ass, then it would be a different story, but it was the gym's responsibilty to provide a safe environment to train in.

Padawn, sue the shit out of them, not cuz you want the money, but to teach these fucking cheap bastards they can't put people's lives in danger to save a couple of $$$.

I'm glad to hear you'll be OK. Take a pic of your leg asap for proof. They have insurance against this kind of stuff, so get a lawyer and fuck them up!!

[Padawan]

Just got back from the doc. Good news is no broken bones. Bad news is that the muscle that runs along the front of my shin got smashed up, and has a deep bruise about 4 inches around, and a nice 2" gash along the bone. The top of my foot is bruised all to hell as well. Doc told me not to train legs for a couple of weeks, which isn't too bad. Gave me some Vicadin, but I don't think I need it. Pain isn't that bad unless I bump into something

Their insurance company is supposed to call me tomorrow about the incident. I have my medical reports and I'll snap some pics just incase. Sad thing is that the corporate office called me, and asked if they tagged the rack as unusable. Of course not. I was there today to get some paperwork, and the rack was loaded with 45's. Some other person is going to get smashed if they are not careful. Cheap bastards.

[Ocnorb36]

New to the board but thought I would throw in another suggestion. Make sure to keep a written account of the incident including times, who you spoke with, doctor visits, etc.... Make sure to mail or fax a written account of the incident to the insurance company and a cc for the gym. In the event you go legal you will need it. (p.s. if the rack is still damaged and they are using it take a polaroid to show their carelessness...........but only sue if necessary). Good luck.

[thetank]

my school gym was fuckin ridiculus, i was doing tri pulldowns once and the metal pin snapped! i didnt get hurt, but it was pretty damn close..as for the YMCA, holy shit im not even going to start on the shit equipement there....

[EXCESS]

If you considering sueing or attempting to get a settlement you should start a diary. List how you feel throughout the day, how the injury affected your daily routine, etc, because you'll need to be able to account for everything.

[THE BIG RED MACHINE]

Had a similar thing happen to a powerlifter at the gym I USED to belong to. This guy was crazy strong (Seen him squat 1000lbs for a rep-basement), anyway he had been working on the lat pull down machine, pulling the weight to his chest and he of course had it loaded and the extra hook with the 45lb plates on it. Not quite sure how much was there, but it was some serious poundage. Well, he's about half way through his w/o, so he decides to do some cheat reps, and starts using his body momentum to move the weight for the last couple. The next thing I knew, he was rolling around on the floor with the bar in his hands and a face full of blood. Apparently the gym manager was rather tardy between his cable inspections and this one happend to be week and let go. To make a long story short, this guy apparently clobbered his TMJ and now suffers from migranes. There was a big to do about what was going to happen. He was good friends with the manager, so he decided to go after the manufacturer. Because he overloaded the machine with weight (remember the hook with the 45lb plates) the company washed their hands of it. Well, this guy was in need of some compensation so he and the manager decided to settle out of court for an "undesclosed sum". Let's just say it was a LOT more than the price of a membership.

[Padawan]

It seems like I am having mad shin splints more than anything else. Can't ride my motorcycle, either, because of the bruising on my foot. If anybody has any experience dealing with an insurance company in a liability suit, drop me a PM please.

[Padawan]

Ok, here is the update one month later.

Doc had some X-Rays done, said all was well, just don't train legs for a couple of week because of the injury to the muscle on the leg. I wait two weeks, and hit a mild leg session. Pretty good pain in the shin during the lifts, and it is throbbing all night and into the next day. Doc says wait two more weeks. So the next time I train legs, same thing. After the workout, the front of my leg feel like someone is blowing up a balloon under the skin, and I have to elevate it to ease the pain. There is a nice 1.5" lump still there, and a nasty ass scar from the gash in my leg. I am pretty pissed because I was planning a show in June of next year, and this is not helping my leg development at all.

Anyone have any experience in dealing with an insurance company? What should I say to these guys when I talk to them?