Fitness Centers May Have Duty of Care Regarding AEDs

A court's decision may signal a change in fitness centers' duty of care with regard to AEDs.

Law 508 Ab Any health club that does not have an AED, even in states in which doing so is not a statutory obligation, runs the risk of being seen as acting with indifference to the welfare and safety of its patrons and either negligent or grossly negligent for any deaths that may result from a cardiac event. That was the message handed down earlier this year by the Cook County Circuit Court in Fowler v. Bally Total Fitness [Case No. 07 L 12258], a case that suggests a change in the way courts are viewing such incidents. As reported in this space ["Med Alert," April 2007, p. 30], at least seven states, including California, Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, have legislatively mandated that health clubs and fitness centers meeting a specified membership threshold not only maintain an automated external defibrillator, but also train employees on how to use such a device in the case of an emergency. The two main rationales legislatures have offered for requiring health clubs and fitness centers to have an AED are:

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