Fractured toe injury caused by gym negligence - £1,400 compensation awarded

When a 20kg weight fell onto the toe of a man at his local gymnasium, he was left with a fractured toe injury leaving him unable to work as normal for two weeks, while his toe healed.

Our client, a member of one of the UK’s leading health and fitness clubs, was replacing a weight onto an equipment stand when he was injured by another weight that had not been properly secured by the previous user or checked by gym staff.

Following a visit to the local Accident & Emergency Unit, it was revealed that the weight had fractured his left big toe. Consequently he was restricted in his work activities for two weeks and was unable to return to the gym for nearly six weeks.

The gym appeared somewhat disinterested in their member’s plight and so on the recommendation of his brother, who had been advised by Bartletts Solicitors in the past, he contacted us for advice.

All leisure facilities carry public liability insurance and so we wrote to the gym on our client’s behalf, asking them to pass on the correspondence to their insurers. However, the gym simply ignored this correspondence and so we initiated Court proceedings on behalf of our client.

At this point, the Gym owners stopped burying their heads in the sand and called in their solicitors, who initially denied liability. They claimed that the gym had an adequate system of inspection and maintenance and that the weights had been secured by resting on a pin and that staff at the gym were properly trained to inspect all gym machines and report any defects immediately.

However, Bartletts Solicitors continued to fight on for our client in order to obtain compensation and following negotiations, a settlement was reached on his behalf in April this year (2010) amounting to £1,400 personal injury compensation.