Negligent Personal Training

Many people choose to work with a personal trainer so that they do not have to worry about getting hurt in the gym. However, unfortunately accidents can still happen and personal trainers can contribute to injuries in the gym. If you think that you are the victim of negligent training on the part of your personal trainer, you can learn more about next steps to take here. I will discuss specific situations in which a personal trainer may be held responsible for your injuries, and how to get the compensation that you deserve.

What Is Negligence?

One element in personal injury claims is negligence. If the injured party (also known as the plaintiff) can prove that the defendant was negligent in their actions, and that this negligence caused an accident, it can definitely strengthen their case and point to the defendant being responsible for any injuries. In order to prove negligence, you will have to prove these elements:

• That the defendant, in this case your personal trainer, was responsible for a duty of care towards you.
• This duty of care was breached because a negligent action took place.
• That negligence caused an accident which resulted in your injury.

Examples Of Training Negligence

How does negligence apply to personal trainers? Consider some of these common situations where they may be guilty of negligence:

• Failing to act as a “spotter.”
• Telling you to lift weight that is too heavy for you.
• Ignoring you if you say you are experiencing pain.
• Failing to make sure that you use proper form.
• Failing to learn about or remember previous injuries that could impact your training.
• Failing to pay attention while you are working out and offering inadequate supervision.
• Having you use equipment that is defective.
• Telling you to exercise for too long or not allowing your body time to heal from training sessions.

Training negligence by a personal trainer could result in injuries such as:

• Muscle tears.
• Tendonitis.
• Pulled muscles.
• Muscle sprains/strains.
• Broken bones.
• Nerve damage.
• Spinal injury.
• Concussion.
• Heart attack.

In serious cases, wrongful death could occur.

Determining Fault

It is important to keep in mind that not all injuries are the fault of the trainer. For example, things like muscle soreness can be natural byproducts of starting a new exercise regimen, and should not result in a personal injury lawsuit.

In addition, there are situations where the trainer was not acting in a negligent way and instead, the gym itself or you may have contributed to an injury. This might be the case if equipment is defective and the trainer does not know. In this case, the gym would be at-fault. Or, if you harm yourself because you go against the trainer’s advice, or injure yourself while working out alone, the trainer will likely not be held responsible.

It is a good idea to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to review the situation in which you were injured to figure out who is responsible. Contact our office to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer who can help.