Physical activity can be achieved on your own, but the main reason that people sign up for the gym or other fitness activities is to get access to the best equipment on their own schedule. Fitness centers need to make sure that clients understand the risk they're assuming by getting the best workout possible. However, some gyms are still relying on paper waiver forms in their application process. This is an inconvenience for gyms to store, and visitors can easily lose those papers. That's why it's more important than ever for fitness centers and spas to consider taking their liability waivers and release forms online.
Max Goodman is a Partner at the law firm, SmithAmundsen, LLC headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. He is the Chair of SmithAmundsen’s Fitness & Wellness Services Group and a member of SmithAmundsen’s Commercial Litigation and Hospitality Practice Groups. For the Fitness & Wellness Services Group, Max represents businesses in the health, wellness, and fitness industries where he partners with business owners to deliver informed advice and counsel concerning business and legal needs. Contact Max at SmithAmundsen.
The information provided on this page is for informational purposes only, and the author and WaiverSign make no representation that the contents will effectively protect any legal rights or satisfy your legal obligations, including but not limited to personal or corporate liabilities. In order to protect your legal rights, you should consult an attorney. The resources herein, including all verbal and written content, are not provided as legal advice to you, and should not be relied on as such.
A gym liability waiver can be very effective in dissuading people from filing a lawsuit against your facility. Let's say that one of your trainers has a client who suffered a significant injury on the treadmill. That client may try to hire counsel and pursue litigation to cover their medical expenses. However, a proper liability waiver will show that the client assumed the risk of injury when they agreed to their gym membership.
Waivers are not an absolute way to get out of a lawsuit, but more often than not, a signed and accurate waiver will lead to a dismissal in a court of law. Together with proper liability insurance and equipment maintenance, gyms and other fitness services can spare themselves from litigation in their jurisdiction.
Your attorney, who may have helped to create the waiver forms for your fitness center, should be consulted in the event of a lawsuit. A personal trainer may be named as a defendant in that litigation if the injury occurred during a training session. However, a signed consent form citing the assumed risk for "negligent training or instruction" is good news for your gym. Your attorney can file a quick motion with the court, presenting that signed gym waiver and asking the judge to dismiss the case. This may prevent any costly lawsuits.
Operating without a waiver form is incredibly dangerous. If your fitness center doesn't have a waiver, you should speak with an attorney who has experience creating waivers for gyms and health clubs. If you're using a previous form from another establishment you own, you'll want your lawyer to take a look to make sure it's sufficient enough to cover clients within the jurisdiction of another location. You can even tailor any attachments to those waivers to suit the space and other accommodations.
A fitness waiver template may seem like a great idea to save money and time, but it's safer to have an attorney draw up a waiver specific to the physical fitness activity happening in your establishment. General waivers for "any and all" injuries that occur at your gym won't work. They're simply too vague and can leave you on the hook for a negligence claim or any medical expenses resulting from a client's injuries.
If your fitness center offers personal training sessions, you'll want to make sure that clients sign a gym waiver that specifically adheres to the classes offered and what fitness professionals recommend for those who sign up for the classes. A fitness release form should mention the risks specific to those sessions or equipment used. These forms also should be filled out well in advance of the first training session.
If you operate multiple locations, your gym's waiver should be drafted to accommodate a gym member to work out at any location. The same waiver can be used in different states across the U.S., but you should speak with an attorney regarding any regulations within the state for a consent form. Most states honor properly worded waivers that are signed by the gym member. However, a very small number of states do not allow liability waivers. Some language may need to be different depending on the laws in your state. A fitness waiver may also need to be adjusted based on city or county regulations.
Your fitness release form should not only accommodate the basic standards of waiver law in your given jurisdiction but include the potential risk associated with activities that are unique to your health club. A personal injury lawyer will advise you to list out the fitness services that are available through personal trainers or the use of specific equipment. In fact, release forms have been expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to include virtual personal training sessions or fitness classes to clear your gym and staff members of any liability.
A gym membership agreement and any waivers should be presented separately. A court of law needs to see evidence of reasonable care by your facilities. This is demonstrated by a separate membership contract followed by later review of fitness consent forms that show there was a differential in the legal contract and other documents. Plus, those liability waivers need to be clearly labeled, making sure that the assumption of risk is understood without fine print.
WaiverSign note: WaiverSign can facilitate multiple agreements with a single signing link. With our platform, you can build out separate documents for your gym membership agreement, your waivers, and any other agreements you need to have clients sign. Each agreement is presented and signed individually, with individually signed copies of each sent to the gym member and stored for easy access in WaiverSign.
Yes. Any attorney with personal injury litigation experience should want to speak with you regarding your gym waivers. Of course, there is concern for gym owners spending too much on legal fees. However, most attorneys will offer a free consultation regarding these documents before seeking payment to craft a new waiver for your facilities.
While we don't recommend using another gym's liability waivers, there's no harm in speaking with gym owners in your area to get a referral to a particular attorney. This will point you in the right direction to protect your fitness center and your staff members from a potential negligence lawsuit.
A gym waiver for your fitness center should take an experienced attorney an hour or two, but it should not expand beyond that. Attorneys charge by the hour, usually at a rate of hundreds of dollars, so make sure that you are hiring an attorney with a reasonable rate who has a history of good practice in creating release forms. Don't hesitate to ask a lawyer for an estimate of how long a project will take them so you can make sure you are on board with how much you're spending to get these insights.
