Man sues Gold Gym in Venice and gets $11.3 million

[thebrick]

An accident with a Smith machine leaves him a quadriplegic. It sounds like the bar fell, not quite sure how, and there were no safety stops in place

**broken link removed**

what's your view on this?

 

[pesty4077]

IMO, I rather have my health, than 11 million, I actually feel sorry for him. No amount of money is worth his dilema. I also would not fault Gold's gym, it was just a tragic accident, unfortunate.

 

[bhumik]

sucks. man . no amount of money could change how he must feel.

 

[thebrick]

a little more info about the machine in question

**broken link removed**

 

[Nexus]

This is why gyms sometimes have to charge so much money for memberships becuase the insurance they have to carry to protect members or themselves in case of inury or lawsuits costs to damn much. Now granted if there were no safety stops on the smith press machine then is Gold liable?? Depends on the make of the smith press. I have seen old cybex smith presses with no safety guards on them.

I dunno if gold's put up a sign with a disclaimer on it. If they had and he went ahead and lifted anyway then its his own fault but still alot of times the members do stupid stuff that gets them hurt and the gym is the one held resposnible.

Like the guy who loads 500lbs on the bench and then caves his chest in with no spotter and tried to sue the gym saying the equipment was bad or whatever and sadly the gym has to eat that. Sometimes people should be held accountable for thier own stupid actions.

Now it doesnt seem so in this case with this man. I feel sorry for him, I really do but usually the gyms get the short end of the stick alot of times.

 

[ojs]

I'm a gym owner. How can I stop people from putting too much weight on a Smith Machine? The guy tore his quads and collapsed. It seems like an unfair judgment.

 

[thebrick]

IMO, I rather have my health, than 11 million, I actually feel sorry for him. No amount of money is worth his dilema. I also would not fault Gold's gym, it was just a tragic accident, unfortunate.

Man, that's the truth. I feel really bad for him. I am not sure how I would deal with it if I was in his shoes. Being and athlete, now this.

I'm a gym owner. How can I stop people from putting too much weight on a Smith Machine? The guy tore his quads and collapsed. It seems like an unfair judgment.

Agreed. Its just bad all the way around for everybody involved.

 

[Adrenaline Rush]

thats just a terrible story for everyone involved...Trying to picture how this could happen, cant seem to get the visualization of how you could be paralyzed from this..they didnt mention the amount of weight unless i missed it

 

[hellraiser27]

It doesn't really give detail of his injuries. It may be something he can recover from. Torn quads, not spinal. But who knows, it doesnt say.

 

[ojs]

thats just a terrible story for everyone involved...Trying to picture how this could happen, cant seem to get the visualization of how you could be paralyzed from this..they didnt mention the amount of weight unless i missed it

I'm reading it that he hit the floor bent forward and the weight broke his back. He can't use his legs or make a fist. But you're right. It doesn't say much on the injury itself...

The original award was $16.3 million, but the jury decreased that amount by 10 percent due to Bostick's negligence, although the jury did not state what they saw as Bostick's negligence. However, Nalley said that the case involved a lifter who attempted to lift too much weight. As a result, his quadriceps tore, which caused him to fall, resulting in paralysis, Nalley contended.

My Smith Machine has safety stops but they are removable. And most guys just take them off and put them on the floor.

 

[thebrick]

It doesn't really give detail of his injuries. It may be something he can recover from. Torn quads, not spinal. But who knows, it doesnt say.

I think in the second article it mentioned the bar crushed his spine.

 

[Smooth_Silk]

WOW! that is just upsetting. That is horrible

 

[jesse7159]

KEY WORD

the key word in that story was NEGLIGENCE. yeah it truly sucks that happened and he is in a wheelchair for life but is it safe to say hes a dumbass for not listening to his body or knowing his limits? and who here thinks its ridiclous for the gym to have to pay for his negligence?? not bashing the guy beacuse that really sucks and i feel sorry for the guy, but thats bullshit the gym has to suffer because he was an idiot IMO.

 

[bhumik]

the key word in that story was NEGLIGENCE. yeah it truly sucks that happened and he is in a wheelchair for life but is it safe to say hes a dumbass for not listening to his body or knowing his limits? and who here thinks its ridiclous for the gym to have to pay for his negligence?? not bashing the guy beacuse that really sucks and i feel sorry for the guy, but thats bullshit the gym has to suffer because he was an idiot IMO.

the gym is not paying. the insurance is paying.

 

[jesse7159]

the gym is not paying. the insurance is paying.

thats true bro, but if you think about it, the gym is still paying. bad rep "thats the gym that guy almost killed himself at", incease in dues ect. im sure im over reacting but people have no self ownership nowadays for thier own screw ups.

 

[Mr.G]

You don't know what you would do if in the same spot. I will say I have been in a Gold's & the cable for the row snapped & I went flying across the room. I didn't get hurt but if I did I would own the GYM. The other thing I have seen a lot of is NO maintenance on equipment.

 

[jesse7159]

You don't know what you would do if in the same spot. I will say I have been in a Gold's & the cable for the row snapped & I went flying across the room. I didn't get hurt but if I did I would own the GYM. The other thing I have seen a lot of is NO maintenance on equipment.

i understand what your sayin. hell if it was the equipment maintenance/gym at fault i would have the gyms ass too. but his injury was due to negligence....right????

 

[SVFootball]

i understand what your sayin. hell if it was the equipment maintenance/gym at fault i would have the gyms ass too. but his injury was due to negligence....right????

not necessarily...from what i understand he tore his quads and then the weight fell on his back...right? i haven't heard anything about how much weight he was using. it does seem odd that both his quads tore? (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

BUT...that does not mean he was being irresponsible. guys have torn muscles before just lifting. shit happens. the big thing was there were no safety pins. my gym at home actually has free squats (you aren't even in a rack)...but now i think i'll stick to inside a safe rack

all I'm saying is he tore his quads leading to the back. had he sued gold's over the torn quads, I'd be up in arms as that would be total BS. but...the second injury was preventable, which is why i don't fault him at all and probably why he won the case.

 

[machola]

He can't use his legs or make a fist.

that tells you the spinal cord was damaged close to the neck. C8 or higher. i couldn't imagine being in that condition. i wish him the best

 

[jesse7159]

not necessarily...from what i understand he tore his quads and then the weight fell on his back...right? i haven't heard anything about how much weight he was using. it does seem odd that both his quads tore? (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

BUT...that does not mean he was being irresponsible. guys have torn muscles before just lifting. shit happens. the big thing was there were no safety pins. my gym at home actually has free squats (you aren't even in a rack)...but now i think i'll stick to inside a safe rack

all I'm saying is he tore his quads leading to the back. had he sued gold's over the torn quads, I'd be up in arms as that would be total BS. but...the second injury was preventable, which is why i don't fault him at all and probably why he won the case.

hhmmm...good point. i guess we'll have to wait and see if more info comes out so we can get a better idea on what happened. and i agree with you, tearing BOTH quads seems kinda odd to me as well...