Gym and Fitness Center Injuries in Georgia

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Georgia’s courts have held that a business can release itself from its own negligence but not from gross negligence or wilful misconduct, and the exact words of a release can decide the case. For a gym member who signed a membership release and was hurt, those rules come before anything else.

How Exercise Injuries Happen

MedlinePlus lists the causes of sports and exercise injuries as “[a]ccidents, poor training practices, or improper gear,” and adds that not warming up or stretching enough can also lead to injury. Who is responsible for a particular injury depends on which of those causes was at work: a hazard in the facility, equipment that failed, or something else.

What a Membership Release Can Do

Georgia’s statute on contracts against public policy states that “[a] contract that is against the policy of the law cannot be enforced,” and states that contracts deemed contrary to public policy “include but are not limited to” five listed kinds, among them contracts in general restraint of trade and wagering contracts (OCGA 13-8-2(a)). A release of a business’s own negligence is not among the five.

Georgia’s appellate courts have enforced releases in health and fitness club contracts. In Herren v. Sucher, No. A13A1076 (Ga. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2013), a gym member who suffered a stroke after a session with a personal trainer had signed three documents: a membership agreement, a fitness assessment agreement, and a personal training agreement whose release reached personal training and nutritional programs. The Court of Appeals treated them as clear and express waivers, rejected the argument that they were ambiguous, and affirmed summary judgment for the gym defendants on the ordinary negligence claims. It relied on earlier decisions holding that an exculpatory clause in a health or fitness club contract does not make the contract unenforceable as against public policy, among them Hembree v. Johnson, 224 Ga. App. 680 (1997), Day v. Fantastic Fitness, Inc., 190 Ga. App. 46 (1989), Lovelace v. Figure Salon, 179 Ga. App. 51 (1986), and My Fair Lady of Ga. v. Harris, 185 Ga. App. 459 (1987).

What a Release Cannot Do

A release has a limit, which the Court of Appeals stated in McFann v. Sky Warriors, Inc., 268 Ga. App. 750 (2004), a case about pilots who signed releases before a simulated aerial combat flight: “in Georgia a party may not obtain an exculpatory agreement for its gross negligence or wilful misconduct.” Quoting earlier decisions, it described gross negligence as “the want of slight care and diligence,” and it treated wilful conduct as conduct resting on an actual intent to harm or injure, and wanton conduct as conduct so reckless, or so indifferent to consequences, that it equals actual intent in spirit. Whether conduct rises to that level can be a jury question: where reasonable people could differ, “the right to draw the inference is within the exclusive province of the jury.”

The Words of the Release Decide

The scope language matters. In Herren, the personal training agreement expressly reached personal training and nutritional programs, and the court enforced it. The two pilots in McFann signed different forms for the same flight. One released the business from liability “whether caused by the negligence of SWI, or any of them, or otherwise.” The other provided that the business “shall satisfy any legal liability for injuries or damage to the Instructor or his property if such liability arises solely from the negligence or wilful misconduct of Sky Warriors,” and the court held that this agreement “does not release Sky Warriors from liability arising from its sole negligence and wanton conduct.” The same kind of injury led to different results because the forms said different things.

The Gym as Property Owner, and the Equipment Maker

A business that invites members onto its premises is liable for injuries caused by its failure to use ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1). When a machine or other equipment was defective, the claim may run against its manufacturer, which is liable in tort if the product was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use when sold, and that condition caused the injury (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)).

Climbing Walls and Auto-Belays

A fall from a climbing wall can bring in the maker of the device that held the rope as well as the gym. Auto-belay devices have been the subject of federal recalls: in a 2020 recall, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission described a model that could loosen and create slack in the rope, allowing the climber to fall, and told users to stop using the devices and contact the manufacturer for a free repair; the devices had been sold mainly to climbing facilities and gyms. Whether a gym knew of a recall and acted on it bears on its own duty of ordinary care, apart from any product claim against the maker.

When a climbing partner or a staff member was holding the rope, that person’s share of fault can count even if the person is not sued. The jury weighs the fault of everyone who contributed to the injury, and it considers a nonparty’s fault when the injured climber settled with that person or a defendant files notice naming the person at least 120 days before trial; a finding of fault against a nonparty does not make that person liable in any action (OCGA 51-12-33(c), (d)(1), (f)(2)).

A gym that argues a climber assumed the risk carries the burden of showing that the climber knew of the particular danger that caused the fall, not merely the general risks of climbing (Vaughn v. Pleasent, 266 Ga. 862 (1996)).

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of injuries happen during exercise?
MedlinePlus lists sprains and strains, knee injuries, swollen muscles, Achilles tendon injuries, pain along the shin bone, rotator cuff injuries, fractures, and dislocations as “[t]he most common sports injuries.”

How long does a member who was under 18 have to file?
A person under 18 when the cause of action accrues has, after turning 18, the same time to sue that other persons have, except as OCGA 9-3-33.1 provides for childhood sexual abuse claims (OCGA 9-3-90(b)).

How long after a machine is first sold can its maker be sued?
Under the product statute, suit must be filed within ten years of the equipment’s first sale for use or consumption (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(2)).

  • MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), “Sports Injuries” (last updated Sept. 22, 2025)
  • OCGA 13-8-2(a)
  • Herren v. Sucher, No. A13A1076 (Ga. Ct. App. Nov. 6, 2013); Hembree v. Johnson, 224 Ga. App. 680 (1997), Day v. Fantastic Fitness, Inc., 190 Ga. App. 46 (1989), Lovelace v. Figure Salon, 179 Ga. App. 51 (1986), and My Fair Lady of Ga. v. Harris, 185 Ga. App. 459 (1987) (as cited in Herren)
  • McFann v. Sky Warriors, Inc., 268 Ga. App. 750 (2004) (quoting My Fair Lady of Ga. v. Harris, 185 Ga. App. 459 (1987); Hall v. Gardens Services, 174 Ga. App. 856 (1985); Colonial Properties Realty v. Lowder Construction Co., 256 Ga. App. 106 (2002); Chrysler Corp. v. Batten, 264 Ga. 723 (1994))
  • OCGA 51-3-1; OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1), (2)
  • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, recall of Perfect Descent auto belay devices (2020)
  • OCGA 51-12-33(c), (d)(1), (f)(2); Vaughn v. Pleasent, 266 Ga. 862 (1996)
  • OCGA 9-3-90(b); OCGA 9-3-33.1

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about gym and fitness center injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a release bars a claim depends on its exact words, the conduct involved, and the specific facts. A person injured at a gym should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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