Gym Liability? Or am I skipping Christmas?

[daveydoodle]

I understand ultimately it's my fault, and what the right things to do is, but I just wanted a sounding board;

Today at the gym I went to put a 45 back on the weight stack which was right next to the mirror (bad spot to be), and bumped it against the mirror. Of course it spider cracked about 20" out. Since I try to do the right thing when I can I told them about it and the club manager said they'll get several quotes and have to "send me a letter".
Any thoughts on whether (1) the gym insurance should pay for it, (2) they're at fault for having the weight stack RIGHT next to a mirror, or (3) I'm skipping Christmas and paying for a $2000 mirror?
Ever happen to anyone else??

 

[jnave49]

i would think the gym insurance should pay for it.

 

[MM11]

Gym should cover it. With out a doubt.

 

[roids1]

You shouldn't have said anything. The manager is just rying to avoid a claim on the insurance. Tell him to eat sh!t. THey have insurance for that.

 

[youngandfree]

Don't pay for it. I was gone for a month and first morning back I stood a barbell up on its end inside a power rack so I could move the safety bars. Stupid. The rack shook and the bar fell into the mirror in front of a guy squatting next to me and broke. Told the gut up front and he wrote an accident report but no hassle about paying for it. I told him I have prepayed $20/month already and can take the rest out of my monthly dues. At least you were honest enough to tell someone so no one would get hurt by it.

 

[purelife1]

thats what insurance is for... worst case scenerio change gyms

 

[CopyCat]

I'd call shenanigans on that a$$hole. I'm sure they've got insurance for that crap and you can easily argue you're way out of it. Especially since it's right next to the mirror. I commend your honesty, but at this point I would throw morality out the window and argue that there was equipment like a plate on the floor or something that got in your way and caused you to loose balance and blame the gym for having a poor and possibly unsafe set up. Just saying

 

[CrazyChemist]

I'd call shenanigans on that a$$hole.]

Shenanigans, hahahaha.

Totally do not pay for that.

Before the manager even calls you I'd call him and tell him you consulted an attorney about the issue because you don't have the money to pay $2k for a mirror. The attorney advised you to request he make a claim to his insurance and if he still thinks you are liable then you will provide him the attorney's mailing address and he can send the letter there.

I don't think you'll actually need an attorney but if this guy is being a d*ck then for like $100-$200 an attorney will handle the issue for you. 'Esquire' at the end of a name intimidates most. I, unfortunately, have gotten myself into some sticky situations so I know a few lawyers and I default to them when in situations like this.

 

[bigmoe65]

Tell him if he wants you to pay for something that you could knock his teeth out and pay for that. Fukc him.

 

[SilentBob187]

:bigok:

 

[CROWLER]

Having owned many gyms and health clubs I would have thanked you for being so honest, ask if you were hurt and then said don't worry about it we will take care of it.

I wouldn't turn it over to the insurance company but just get it fixed.

Many times mirrors were cracked which were no where near any racks and no one ever came to us and let us know they did it. So congrats on your honesty and keep us up to date on what happens.

 

[daveydoodle]

I had the weekend off, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. It seems from the replies that it either should be handled by insurance, or it was not my fault to begin with. In addition, they have two other mirrors that have been cracked for several months now. I wonder if they're just in financial hardship and "fishing" for some money to help out. Thanks for the replies. I wanted to do the "right" thing, but I'm also not going to be taken advantage of. Worse case scenario, I can push weights anywhere. I joined this gym for the number of plates, not the aerobics classes...

 

[crash2000]

I agree with everyone else, you shouldn't have to pay... BUT if the manager is a ****, which it sounds like he is, you maybe shopping for a new GYM !

and props to you for being honest, who's his boss talk to him, get the manager in ****.

 

[Lacradocious]

Don't pay for it. It was an accident. The gym owner should just be happy no one was hurt. Things like this comes with the territory when owning a gym. Find a new gym if he tries to make you pay for an honest mistake.

 

[CrazyChemist]

he im glad this thread got bumped - OP, any news?

 

[jim623]

Owning up and telling them about it is definately a credit to your caracter, nice job there!!

The gym insurance should cover it.

 

[daveydoodle]

I've continued to go there and workout since. The last week or so I'm just getting that cold shoulder feeling from the managers, which I hope means that they talked to insurance and they were told that I'm not liable for the damages. I'm not there to make friends so I can deal with the pissy attitudes; I do like that they have nice facilities, lots and lots of heavy plates, and it's close by. I've been there long enough and helped out their trainers on several occasions, so it used to have that "home away from home" feeling. Plus, I work at night so during the day it's ALL MINE!
I'll let ya know if they approach me about it, but with the responses from here I think I'll argue if they try to collect. Thanks everyone.

 

[CrazyChemist]

reps - merry xmas

 

[daveydoodle]

Well, I'm sorry everybody but I got "the letter" yesterday. At least they waited until after Christmas shopping was done. I received a letter from the club manager stating that they needed me to pay "my portion" of the repairs for the broken glass. My portion was $1850.
I think, based on the responses from here and conversations with other gym owners/managers that I'm going to wait until they confront me face to face with it and then I'm going to go new gym shopping. I want to try and use the gym as much as I can until I really have to go, but I don't feel comfortable paying that much for the mirror.
I still think I did the right thing in telling them, as it really was an accident, but everyone says that's what insurance is for. I think they're trying to take advantage of my honesty. I guess I'll let you know what happens next.
Thanks for all the replies; it really helped.

 

[CROWLER]

I think that is the best thing to do. If and ONLY if they bring legal action (suing you in small claims court) would I do anything.

IMO that is ridiculous what they did in sending you a letter to pay for it.

I would take a pic of the mirror and any other mirrors which have cracks in it and a picture showing how close the weight tree is to the mirror.

 

[CrazyChemist]

I think that is the best thing to do. If and ONLY if they bring legal action (suing you in small claims court) would I do anything.

IMO that is ridiculous what they did in sending you a letter to pay for it.

I would take a pic of the mirror and any other mirrors which have cracks in it and a picture showing how close the weight tree is to the mirror.

Agree - start taking some photos and you might want to draft a response letter. I'll PM you.

 

[silverSurfer]

I hope it all goes well.

 

[Australian made]

It was an accident. Simple as that. You don't have to pay for that.

 

[celc5]

subbed...

gyms have barbells, squat racks, and plates. Any other gym will do brotha :head:

 

[daveydoodle]

Well, I still get the dirty looks (management only) but I have yet to actually be confronted on this. Because I was sure it was going to come down to me getting kicked out of the gym, I went ahead and joined a local Power lifting Club and have been working out there once or twice a week, and once or twice at my other club.
Surprisingly, I've had a tremendous show of support from other lifters in the club; all saying "that isn't right" and that they'll be witnesses for me. I really don't want it to come down to that.
Here's the kicker (short story); a mom drops off her 15 y/o kid at the club to play basketball, and tells him she'll come back and pick him up at 4pm. She doesn't show up until 8pm. Kid's mad, and throws rocks (intentionally) through the front double-glass doors (4-6 of them). Damage is around $4,000. The club manger decided that she's not going to hold this kid, or his parents, financially responsible.
After I heard that, I really don't feel responsible at all. Mine was an accident, his was intentional.
I guess I'm going to keep lifting, business as usual, until they get the nerve to say directly to me that I need to pay this, and not some letter like it was a fishing trip for money trip!
For some reason I just really like this gym. Good guys, always un-crowded, plenty of iron, nice scenery, etc. I guess we'll just see. Thanks again everybody.

 

[b9cist]

Wow, what an ass! He should have insurance that will cover this. At the most he could ask you to cover the deductable. If he's a jerk about it, is there another gym close by?

I understand ultimately it's my fault, and what the right things to do is, but I just wanted a sounding board;

Today at the gym I went to put a 45 back on the weight stack which was right next to the mirror (bad spot to be), and bumped it against the mirror. Of course it spider cracked about 20" out. Since I try to do the right thing when I can I told them about it and the club manager said they'll get several quotes and have to "send me a letter".
Any thoughts on whether (1) the gym insurance should pay for it, (2) they're at fault for having the weight stack RIGHT next to a mirror, or (3) I'm skipping Christmas and paying for a $2000 mirror?
Ever happen to anyone else??

 

[CROWLER]

Agreed.

BUT even if he doesn't have insurance he should take care of it IMO

 

[rugger48]

1 fricken mirror is 2000. that cant be right. i just looked this up on the internet, I will pm you the link. I realized that could be a way low price , but even if you add 4-500 dollars to that its still way cheaper than what this guy is charging you.


edit: Im looking up these prices and i dont get this 2000$ for a mirror, the prices Im seeing are nowhere near what hes charging you. i understand installation might be more than normal because its 1 mirror, but still not that much.

What I would do is find out where they got these mirrors with out the managment knowing, and call your self to get a qoute, just to give yourself some piece of mind. Also Have you talked to actual owner of the gym, or company. Sounds like you should take this a bit further up the chain of command to make sure that this is actually the case. That is if you really care about working out there. If you plan being in the area for a long time, my guess is you will be there longer than the manager will.

1 more thing that came to mind is the possibility that they are trying to get you to leave. Looking at your profile it says your 6'4" 270, im guess your liftinmg some pretty heavy weight. If your a pwerlifter type they may see this as an oppritunity to get rid of you. just another thought.

 

[celc5]

I just went through a similar product based legal issue. Here's my opinion:

I don't think it's against the law for the gym owner to ask you to pay for the mirror. It's probably in his best interest to just ask you to pay for it. It's also perfectly legal for you to say you won' pay.

At that point, it would probably cost him more to get you to court than to simply pay for the mirror himself. And on top of that, we all seem to think he doesn't have a case anyway.

 

[CROWLER]

And bad customer service as well.

I would think the owner might also be concerned that if it is foreseeable that a person could break the mirror because of its location HE could be sued if someone were to get injured.

 

[daveydoodle]

I don't know if they're trying to get rid of me for other reasons, but I'll admit they don't seem happy at my use of chalk, chains on the bench, and noises that may slip out during a hard lift! I feel like I get along with everybody there. The front desk girls, the custodians and I know the trainers like me because I seem to be their resource quite often.
I agree with Celc5, I think they were just trying to take advantage of my honesty and see if I would pay. The weight tree was moved away from it's poorly placed location minutes after this happened. So I also agree that they may see their own liability in this.
I'm going to continue to use both gyms and maybe this will just go away eventually.

 

[celc5]

Davey,
even though I don't know you all that well, I sort of sense that you genuinely feel really bad over this. Don't let something silly like this wear on you. Seriously, the worst case scenario is no big deal.

Give the weights some hell :head: