Key Points:

• Slippery floors in public bathrooms and changing rooms are a hazard. 
• Businesses must have procedures in place to minimise the risk to their customers.

Summary:

After slipping on wet tiles in a changing room, a man has received a large financial settlement from a national gym chain.

Case Details:

Carbone Lawyers achieved a significant financial settlement for a man who was injured when he slipped in a gym changing room.

The Plaintiff, a man in his late 70s, was a regular member at his local branch of a well-known national gym chain. When he walked into the changing room to use the facilities, he slipped on the wet floor and fell hard on his side, injuring his shoulder, arm, and wrist and tearing his rotator cuff. It required a shoulder reconstruction.

Before the fall, he was fit, healthy and agile. In addition to gym workouts, he was a regular swimmer, and although retired, he was active around the home and in the garden. The fall had a significant impact on his enjoyment of life.

Coincidentally, the man had previously complained about the wet and slippery tiles in the bathroom. Further enquiries found that at least one other gym member had reported slipping and falling over on the wet tiles.

Engineers engaged by Carbone Lawyers to inspect the site found that the gym management did not have procedures in place to check and mop floors regularly, and there were no non-slip mats in wet areas. They also found that the tiles in the changing room did not meet the minimum slip resistance recommendations set down by the Australian Standards.

Outcome:

Carbone Lawyers had issued proceedings against the gym; however, the matter was settled before it went to court, and the man received a settlement in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. *

*Details of the matter have been omitted or altered to protect the identity of the parties involved.