Fractured Foot at Gym - would it be worth me persuing this claim?

[MrsGethinJones]

I attended a small group weight lifting class and i was paired up with a girl who was new to the class and seemed
to be new to weightlifting (trainer kept telling her to hold her core, have confidence , and she was a bit unsteady).

we shared a 40kg bar bell and were asked to remove the weights and put them away when we had finished. I removed the 20kg weight from my side however the girl really struggled so i held down the barbell so that she could remove her weight. She shook the weight off with such force that the barbell lifted out kf my hands, fell on my foot and fractured it!

i need to cancel my holiday to San Sebastián next week and will need to take taxis to colllect my daughter from school - cant drive due to injury, single parent.

the gym have sent me the accident report however it doesnt say that we were lifting weights wearing no shoes or that the girl i was working with was new and inexperienced..unsurprisingly

Do you think that this is a claim worth persuing?

Because the 'standard' weight for a bar is 20kg (a.k.a. an Olympic bar).

OP actually said the weight she removed was 20kg. I assume by "the weight" she means a 20kg plate (or 20kg worth of plates).

To be frank, the OP doesn't sound experienced at all e.g. if you have 2 x 20kg plates on, it's a 60kg bar rather than a "40kg barbell". This is pretty basic stuff.

I don't think there's any legal case here, certainly not against the gym. But I would strongly recommend the OP changes to a different class or gym as 2 people who clearly know sweet fa about lifting shouldn't be left unsupervised. That's how accidents happen. Unfortunately some gyms are a bit rubbish. I know of several women-only gyms / "ladies" group weight lifting classes that are absolute shockers and give female lifters a bad name. The level of supervision is appalling and beginners are paired up to spot each other when actually they have no clue about spotting. Incredibly dangerous. Sounds like what the OP was involved in. I hope it wasn't in London E1 (if it was, I have a good idea of the gym/class). Some of these classes / gyms have great marketing (it's all about empowering women) but the execution is terrible.

As for the not wearing shoes, it's not uncommon when lifting for people who don't have weightlifting shoes to lift in just their socks. Depending on the lift (for example, I will deadlift in my socks if I don't have appropriate lifting footwear with me but I'd never squat in my socks). A lot of gyms don't allow it (because some idiot might just drop a weight on your foot!) and good practice is to put your trainers back on as soon as you've finished lifting and before you strip the bar, just in case!

Never put your bare foot under something heavy especially that you aren't in complete control of. I think you will probably have signed something either when joining the gym in general or this class in particular saying you are responsible any injuries cause by use of the equipment.

i thought that the girl who was very unsteady should have been supervised or at least instructed how to remove the weight safely.

No, core strength doesn't mean she can't strip a barbell. She also had a partner to strip the bar with her. You do have some responsibility here too. I don't think there's negligence on the gyms part. You'd have to prove the trainer told you specifically not to put your shoes back on to strip a weight, which in honesty, I'm having a hard time imagining. And even then, you still chose to do it.

Don't take too much notice of the views here, in all my time on MN I don't think there's ever been a compo question that goes the OPs way.

It was an accident, but one imo that could have been prevented, and proper safety procedures weren't followed. As a PP suggested I'd approach a no win no fee, it used to be that if they thought they'd have a 50% or higher chance of winning then they'd take the case.

I doubt trainers would have made any difference to a 20kg weight landing on your foot other than reducing a skin break.

If you have holiday insurance, you'll want to get that claim in for the holiday, but not sure you'll have much recourse for the taxis.

You firstly need to ensure that the accident report is correct.Record your understanding of it and take legal advise before submitting it to the gym.

It's unlikely - because that could just as easily be interpreted as you dropped 10kg of barbell on your foot and now want to sue them. And if, as many gyms do now, there's CCTV, that might show it.

I'm having a hard time working out what happened. How did anything land on your foot?

@TibetanTerrah or take personal responsibility?🤷‍♀️

Ambulance chasers are the work of the devil 🙄

I picture it that the barbell was lying horizontally on the floor and OP was either bent over or crouched down holding an end of the barbell while the other person tried to slide the plate off the other end. And the barbell got dislodged from OPs hands and landed on her foot

I think you're clutching at straws. Read your membership agreement. It probably says the gym will not be held responsible for ANY accidents or damages, while you choose to exercise on their property, and that you accept injury as a risk factor.

Who loaded the bar?
Was it a 20kg bar and 2 x 10kg weights, or?
Who decided how much weight to use?
Did you not voice concerns if you were not happy or did you just accept it?
Putting your weights away is an agreement of nearly every gym I've ever been a member of. It is your responsibility to do this safely.
I don't quite understand where the barbell was when it fell on your foot; why was it elevated at your end? I unload a bar on the floor and slide each weight off each end; no risk. Unless of course, the bar rolls away, but more risk to the mirrors than the members.
Was the whole class told to remove their shoes, and then instructed to unload the weights?
Do you have PROOF that the trainer said what you say he did?

You would need to prove negligence, but from here it seems like as the experienced gym member, you could have guided the person you were paired with to slide the weight off the bar WITH you. Why did you slide your end off first?

Sorry, just trying to make sense of it.

That would make sense. I would say it was an error on the OPs part, not the gym. I don't recall seeing anyone do that in a gym.

No of course not. It was an accident....they happen...you do risky stuff and sometimes risky things happen...its not always someone's fault.
.if you're so concerned then don't do it.

It was accidental that nobody at the gym told you to hold down the weight. You did it off your own back. There's no basis for a claim.

I think you're clutching at straws. Read your membership agreement. It probably says the gym will not be held responsible for ANY accidents or damages, while you choose to exercise on their property, and that you accept injury as a risk factor

You can't exclude liability for personal injury from negligence so it doesn't matter what's written in the membership agreement. That is law degree 101.

OP, @TibetanTerrah has given you good advice. I know nothing about weightlifting, but it sounds like the gym may not have adequately supervised and not followed standard safety procedures re shoes. It's worth talking to a lawyer. No idea how strong your case is but worth checking.

I don't work in this area but I hate PI lawyers being referred to as ambulance chasers. So many improvements in health and safety have come about because businesses can no longer just say 'it was an accident' if it was one they should have been able to prevent.

No she didn’t? So silly when people try and be all smug and correct people but didn’t even read the OP properly 😬. She said they were 20kg plates and that both had been removed before it was dropped. This doesn’t really make sense as if there were two 20kg plates the bar would have been a minimum of 45kg assuming a 5kg bar but hey ho.

I think it’s incredibly unlikely they were using an Olympic barbell in a gym weights class open to beginners!

They have Olympic barbells at my local sports centre. My ds uses them as part of his workout for his rugby club

I think it’s incredibly unlikely they were using an Olympic barbell in a gym weights class open to beginners!

A beginner would struggle with 60kg for sure. I would be surprised if they use them in a class, not just because they are heavy, also they're expensive. Cheaper and lighter alternatives are usually used in class areas.