Recreational injury · Gyms
Injured at a Queensland gym, class or personal training session?
A gym must take reasonable care with its equipment, floors and supervision, and a trainer must take reasonable care with your program and how you’re taught. A membership waiver doesn’t automatically end a claim. Claims start with a notice of claim, and strict time limits apply.
- No-obligation first consultation
- No win, no fee*
- We set out our costs in writing at the start.
The risk you took on, and the risk they created.
- Sore muscles after a hard session
- Tiredness from a workout you chose
- A machine cable or pin that failed
- A program far beyond your fitness
- Weights left lying in walkways
A risk created by a failure to properly operate, maintain or care for equipment or an animal usually isn’t an obvious risk. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 13(5))
Time limits
Time limits can start on the day you’re hurt.
Most recreational injury claims start with a notice of claim. These are the deadlines, in order.
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9months
Notice of claim, or sooner
Give Part 1 of a notice of claim within 9 months of the injury (or of first symptoms, if later), or 1 month after you first ask a lawyer to act for you and the party responsible is identified, whichever comes first. (PIPA s 9(3)) A late notice can still be given, but you must also give a reasonable excuse for the delay. (s 9(5))
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1month
Their first reply
Within 1 month, they must say whether they’re the right party and whether your notice complies. (ss 10, 12)
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6months
Liability decision
Within 6 months of a complying notice, they must say in writing whether they admit liability. (s 20)
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3years
Court action
Generally within 3 years of the injury. (Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) s 11) For a child’s negligence claim, generally within 3 years after they turn 18. (s 29) Claims against a product maker, and some flight claims, have different limits that can run out sooner.
If it happened to a child
A parent can give the notice of claim for a child. (PIPA s 9) A negligence claim can generally go to court up to 3 years after the child turns 18. Claims against a product maker, or for a flight, can have shorter limits that run during childhood, and the notice has the usual deadline.
Hurt while working there?
If you were employed there, a claim against your employer usually goes through WorkCover, with its own time limits. A claim against another business that caused the injury may also be possible. (Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld))
The obvious-risk defence
Three questions decide it.
For a dangerous recreational activity, there’s no claim in negligence for an injury from one of its obvious risks. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 19) Many injuries come from risks that aren’t obvious.
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Question 1
Was it a dangerous recreational activity?
An activity done for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure that involves a significant degree of risk of physical harm. A gentle ride or a beginners’ trail may not be one. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 18)
If not, the defence doesn’t apply
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Question 2
Was the risk obvious?
One that would have been obvious to a reasonable person in your position. It can be obvious even if it couldn’t be seen. A risk created by poor operation or maintenance usually isn’t. (s 13)
If not, the defence doesn’t apply
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Question 3
Were you the one doing it?
The defence only applies to the person doing the activity, not to spectators or bystanders. (s 19)
If not, the defence doesn’t apply
All three must be true for the defence to apply. Even then, it only covers that obvious risk.
There’s also no liability for an inherent risk, one that can’t be avoided even with reasonable care. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 16) A failure to warn about it can still be a claim, but not usually if the risk was obvious. (s 15) Otherwise, a claim turns on whether reasonable care was taken, and whether that caused the injury.
“At your own risk” isn’t the last word.
Waivers and signs
Signed a waiver? It may not end your claim.
Queensland has no special law, like New South Wales has, that gives recreational waivers extra force. Whether a waiver stops a claim depends on whether it was part of your contract, what it clearly covers, who signed it, and consumer law.
It has to be part of the deal
Terms first shown after you booked and paid, like a form signed on arrival, may not form part of your contract.
It’s read strictly
If a waiver’s meaning is unclear, it’s read against the business relying on it.
Some things can’t be signed away
Consumer guarantees, like the guarantee that a service is provided with due care and skill, generally can’t be signed away. (Australian Consumer Law s 64) For recreational services, a waiver can limit them for personal injury, but never for a significant injury caused by reckless conduct. (Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) s 139A)
A child’s claim is their own
A parent’s signature generally can’t sign away a child’s own claim.
How it happens
How people get hurt at gyms.
Exercise carries some strain. But a risk from equipment that wasn’t properly maintained usually isn’t an obvious one. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 13(5))
Equipment failure
A snapped cable, a loose pin or a treadmill that won’t stop.
A trainer’s poor call
Too much weight too soon, poor technique, or no spotter on heavy lifts.
Health warnings missed
A health questionnaire ignored, or warning signs during a session not acted on.
Slips and trips
Wet floors, loose mats, and weights or equipment left in walkways.
A class pushed too hard
A group class beyond the group’s fitness, with no easier options for beginners.
Who may be responsible
Who looks after what at a gym.
More than one party may be responsible. A claim can be made against each.
The gym operator
Equipment, floors and cleaning, and the staff and classes it runs.
Ask for: Incident reports, CCTV and maintenance records
A personal trainer or instructor
A program suited to your fitness and health, correct technique, and spotting.
Ask for: Your program and any health questionnaire
The equipment maker or importer
A machine, bench or cable with a safety defect. (Australian Consumer Law ss 7, 138)
Ask for: The machine’s make, model and any recall
Straight after
Four things to do now.
- Step 1
Report it before you leave
Ask staff for an incident report, and note the machine or class and the time.
- Step 2
Photograph everything
The equipment, the floor and your injuries.
- Step 3
Ask for the footage early
CCTV is often recorded over. Ask the gym in writing to keep it.
- Step 4
See a doctor
Get treatment, and keep referrals and receipts. Treatment costs may be claimable.
Compensation
What you can claim.
- Pain and sufferingSet on the Injury Scale Value, from 0 to 100. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 61)
- Past and future lost earningsWages and super you’ve lost, and what the injury will cost you in future.
- Treatment costsMedical, hospital and rehabilitation costs, past and future.
- Care from familyIf the care is needed because of the injury and given for at least 6 hours a week for at least 6 months. (s 59)
- Paid care and aidsHelp at home, equipment and changes you need because of the injury.
- Travel and other costsGetting to appointments, and other out-of-pocket costs.
Your own share of responsibility can reduce damages. (ss 23, 24) Medicare and Centrelink may need to be repaid from a settlement.
How a claim runs
From the first call to court, if it’s needed.
No-obligation first consultation
We look at what happened, who may be responsible, and your time limits.
Notice of claim
Part 1 of the notice goes to the operator or the party responsible, within the time limit.
Their response
They must reply within 1 month, and say within 6 months whether they admit liability. (PIPA ss 10, 12, 20)
Evidence and reports
Records, footage, witness statements, and medical and expert reports.
Conference and offers
A compulsory conference, then written final offers if it doesn’t settle. (PIPA ss 36, 39)
Court, if needed
If the claim hasn’t resolved, proceedings start within the time limit.
If your claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees for our work. You may still have to pay outlays, such as report and court fees, if your costs agreement says so. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs. We explain this in writing before you sign.
No-obligation first consultation
You decide whether to go ahead once you know your options and the likely costs.
Everything in writing
Fees and outlays are set out in a costs agreement before we start.
Capped at 50%
Our professional fees are capped at 50% of what you recover, after refunds and outlays. (Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 347)
Questions
Questions people ask.
Possibly. A waiver must clearly cover what happened, and if its meaning is unclear, it’s read against the gym. A waiver also can’t exclude the guarantee of due care and skill for a significant injury caused by reckless conduct. (Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) s 139A)
It may not be. The defence only covers obvious risks of an activity involving a significant degree of risk of physical harm. (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) ss 18, 19) Ordinary gym training may not reach that level.
Possibly both. The trainer may be responsible for the program and instruction, and the gym for its equipment and floors. A claim can be made against each.
It can. A trainer must take reasonable care to suit the program to what they know about your health and fitness. Keep any health questionnaire or messages.
A notice of claim is due within 9 months of the injury (or of first symptoms, if later), or 1 month after you first ask a lawyer to act for you and the party responsible is identified, whichever comes first. (PIPA s 9) Court action is generally due within 3 years. (Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) s 11)
Hurt somewhere else?
Hurt at a gym?
Your first consultation covers which notice applies, your time limits, and what to keep. There’s no obligation to go ahead.
No win, no fee*: if your claim doesn’t succeed, you pay no professional fees for our work. You may still have to pay outlays, such as report and court fees, if your costs agreement says so. If a court case is lost or withdrawn, or you don’t do better than an offer the other side made, you may have to pay the other side’s legal costs. We explain this in writing before you sign. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.