Gym Equipment Malfunction Causes Serious Injury
Result Confidential Settlement, High Six Figures
Injuries Orthopedic injuries requiring surgical intervention
Our client was using a piece of strength-training equipment at a commercial gym when a mechanical component failed without warning. The sudden malfunction caused a violent, uncontrolled movement that resulted in serious injuries requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation.
The gym immediately pointed to the liability waiver our client signed at enrollment. Massachusetts law had a different answer. Under G.L. c. 93, § 80, no health club contract may contain a provision requiring members to waive negligence claims. The waiver was void on its face. Its inclusion in the membership agreement was itself a per se violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, G.L. c. 93A — opening an independent statutory claim with exposure to treble damages and attorney’s fees.
We retained a mechanical engineering expert who inspected the equipment and identified a maintenance failure the gym should have caught during routine inspection. Discovery revealed no documented maintenance schedule and no record of the equipment ever being serviced. The gym had a duty to maintain its equipment according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. It failed.
The case resolved for a confidential settlement in the high six figures.
