30 stitches from the gym

[Don4774]

My little brother was at 24-hour fitness here in los Angeles California last night with a few of his friends when he was working out on a squat machine it sliced his hand and cut his tendons and resulted in 30 stitches and possibly losing feeling in his left index finger. He was lifting about 250lbs but he is a small frame and only weighs approx. 150lbs. I was wondering if 24-hour fitness could be held liable for any of the medical bills and/or compensation. If compensation is in order what would be the max we would be able to settle for in a case like this?

 

[Duranie]

This is highly specific on the facts of the case. Did he file an incident report with the gym?

Was the machine faulty?

Your brother is probably going to have to prove the machine was faulty, or the gym was negligent in some way.

He should see a personal injury attorney to see if has a case.

 

[seniorjudge]

These kinds of cases are hard to win.

I agree with Duranie...go hire a lawyer to evaluate the case.

 

[cowboy57]

Two instances

I know two instances that I can think of that might be able help.

Case #1

Male attempts to squat much more than he can handle. I believe 90lbs more than usual. Nobody was paying attention to him and he was squatting by himself. he sways back and his right knee gives out and he ruptured a disc in his back. He turns around and sues the gym. The gym was not at fault because all of the equipment was functioning correctly. Furthermore, the safety bars were functioning in the squat rack.

Case #2

Male was doing cable rows on a multi-function system. The safety rope breaks along with the cable and a lat bar came crashing on his head. It wasn't super serious, but the gym was liable for faulty equipment.