Sport Waiver Risk Fitness Law

A fitness center injury lawsuit illustrates the importance of a proper risk management plan.
Attorney John Wolohan (jwolohan@ithaca.edu) reports on a fitness center injury lawsuit that illustrates the importance of a proper risk management plan.  John is a professor of sports law and chair of the Sport Management & Media department at Ithaca College. This article was published in Athletic Business in May, 2010.
As any administrator or employee involved in the sports and recreation industry will acknowledge, one of the most important tasks is to control or limit …

This article by Doyice Cotten was originally published in Fitness Management. It has been updated (in red) and presents the provider with some valuable information regarding waivers.
Jody Corso was injured while performing an aerobic exercise under the direction of an aerobics instructor.  She fell while using a yoga ball and when she quickly regained her feet, she injured herself.  She filed suit against the United States Surgical Corporation (owner of the fitness center provided for the use of its employees), claiming the corporation, its agents, servants, and employees were negligent …

by David L. Herbert,, Esq., Senior Partner, David L. Herbert & Associates, LLC., Canton, Ohio.
This article by David Herbert was originally published in The Exercise Standards and Malpractice Reporter in January, 2010.  He examines a case in which the health club had an AED and personnel trained to use it, but failed to do so.
In a recent and interesting case from New York, Digiulio v. New York Health & Racquet Club, et al., No. 2009-29454, Supreme Court, New York County, October 13, 2009, the court reported the following …

This article appeared in Fitness Management in May, 2008.

In a 2007 California waiver case, Georja Jones became a member of the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa, a fitness center located within the Loews Santa Monica Hotel, Calif. She signed a membership agreement that consisted of several paragraphs. In paragraph seven, titled “Waiver of Liability,” Jones acknowledged that she was using the facility at her own risk, and waived the liability of the hotel. About a month later, she was injured when she tripped over a hose that was on an …