The result is that a fitness club operator must usually do inspections to determine not only obvious problems, but also dangers that a customer might not necessarily notice. Accidents occur with fitness machines. Lawyers often charge that the machine was inherently dangerous, or that the club failed to maintain it properly. However, evidence that no other accidents had occurred on the particular machine after years of use by other customers was considered by one court to be useful evidence of its safety. Generally, a fitness club does not need to give a physical examination to its customers, but it may be held to have a duty to have first aid personnel and equipment on hand.
Some fitness clubs require that a customer's doctor approve fitness activity.
Although I am writing this article while there are six inches of snow on the ground where I live and work, by the time you read this article it probably will be much warmer and you will possibly be thinking of going to play golf. If you live somewhere quite cold, then you may be thinking of playing golf out in Arizona or other warm climates. It's quite popular for successful insurance agents in the Chicago area to head to warm spots for a golf game during a cold Chicago winter. The dangers of the golf course have caused different courts to rule different ways. One court found that natural dangers, such as slippery moss in a wet ditch, were obvious dangers for which the golf club had no liability.