By
DR. SCOTT CHEATHAM
For personal trainers, having professional liability insurance can protect against legal claims made by a client if something unfortunate happens. Whether you are independent or employed, having liability insurance is a necessity.
Certain employers require fitness professionals to have their own liability insurance even though they are under the company’s insurance. In either case, fitness professionals need to understand how liability insurance can provide legal protection if an unfortunate incident occurs.
This article is a must-read for newly certified professionals, corrective exercise specialists, nutrition coaches, and beyond. It is also a useful review for existing professionals. An overview of the following topics with be discussed:
- Negligence
- Liability insurance
- Strategies for reducing legal risk
NEGLIGENCE AND PERSONAL TRAINING
During a training session, a CPT is responsible for the proper instruction, care, and safety of the client, which is an industry standard. This liability standard puts the responsibility on the fitness professional due to the assumption that they are qualified to train the individual.
Potential unfortunate incidents that can occur include but are not limited to:
1) injury from improper instruction
2) injury from a recommended exercise or program
3) client dissatisfaction with training services
4) a post-exercise injury from overtraining.
If an unfortunate incident occurs, resulting in harm to the client (e.g., injury), it’s called negligence. Negligence is the failure to provide the degree of knowledge, care, or skills that is standard among all similar professionals (Brent, 1990).
More simply, the fitness professional has a legal obligation to care for the client within industry standards. If a departure from the standard of care occurs that results in injury or loss, then the client may have legal recourse if they can prove negligence.
WHAT ARE THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF NEGLIGENCE?
In the U.S. legal system, negligence is proven by four elements (Ronquillo et al., 2020).
1) The professional’s duty was to care for the client during the training session/s. This includes standards such as but are not limited to, proper instruction, supervision, creating a safe exercise program, and ensuring a safe environment.
2) A breach of duty was committed that resulted in client injury or some type of loss.
3) The breach of duty was a direct cause of the client’s injury or loss.
4) The client suffered harm due to the breach of duty, which was the direct cause
These four elements are represented in the table below:
| Table 1. Four Elements of Negligence | |
| Duty | Legal obligation to the client |
| Breach | A departure from the standard of care |
| Cause | The violation or departure resulted in harm |
| Harm | The client suffered harm due to the breach |
During a legal claim, the client (e.g., plaintiff) will seek the services of a lawyer that may file a civil lawsuit claiming negligence by the professional that resulted in the client’s injury or loss. Most often, the fitness professional (e.g., the defendant) must retain the services of a lawyer to deal with the lawsuit.
The time and legal costs can be financially devastating for the fitness professional. Therefore, it is recommended for fitness professionals to protect themselves by having liability insurance.
WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE (ERRORS AND OMISSION)?
Professional liability insurance or “errors and omission insurance” provides protection for legal claims made against the professional and business. Professional liability insurance typically protects against negligence and the following: personal injury (e.g., libel or slander), bodily injury, property damage to others, sexual misconduct, temporary staff, and independent contractors, and licensing board investigation.
For example, a client may have gotten injured during a training session and decides to file a lawsuit against the professional, business, or both.
Other services covered may include legal defence, medical expenses, and earnings loss for attending legal proceedings. The typical annual insurance policy limits include 1 million per claim/3 million aggregate limit.
Thus, the insurance company will pay up to 1 million dollars for the services noted above per each claim and up to 3 million dollars total for the policy (Table 2). Most insurance carriers do provide higher limits and additional coverage, such as consulting services, which may result in a higher annual premium.
WHAT IS GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
General liability or commercial liability protects the place of business. General liability covers property damage and physical risks such as a slip and fall. This is different from a professional liability, which covers services provided by the professional.
The typical general liability insurance policy limits include a 1 million per claim/1 million aggregate limit (Table 2). Businesses will need to determine the optimal coverage amount to protect themselves, which may result in a higher annual premium.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY AND GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
In general, there are two types of liability insurance used by fitness professionals: professional liability and general liability.
| Table 2. Types of Insurance Coverage | ||
| Type of Insurance | Type of Coverage | Common policy limits (dollars) |
| Professional Liability | Professional services | 1 million per claim/3 million aggregate limit. |
| General Liability | Place of business | 1 million per claim/1 million aggregate limit |
This section provides a brief introduction to liability insurance. The fitness professional should consult with their existing or potential insurance carrier regarding the best type of policy for their business. Consulting a legal professional may be necessary if more comprehensive legal advice is required.
HOW TO REDUCE LEGAL RISKS AS A PERSONAL TRAINER
Despite fitness professionals’ best efforts to ensure client safety and satisfaction, lawsuits can be an unfortunate possibility.
Fitness professionals can protect themselves by having liability insurance but also can follow “best practices” within industry standards to ensure client safety and satisfaction. One of the easiest ways to remember these best practices is with the pneumonic: FITTER. These steps are noted below:
F: Focus. Focus on the client or group of clients during the training session by properly instructing and supervising them with all activities. This will help to provide a safe environment. Don’t get distracted during their program since it can lead to injury due to a lack of supervision (Gray & Finch, 2015).
I: Informed consent. Make sure you get verbal and written informed consent from the client/s before their training program begins (Cocanour, 2017). This will ensure that all parties are on the same page with client goals, exercise programming, potential risks, medical clearances, etc.
T: Time. Leave a reasonable amount of time between training sessions so you can take a break, transition, and focus on each client—the potential to make mistakes increases when the professional is in a hurry and rushing between clients.
T: Test. Test your clients regularly to track their progress and keep them motivated. It is recommended to retest clients every 4-6 weeks to track their progress and modify activity accordingly. During this time, the client can also share their opinions about their program and any desired changes. The recheck creates a collaborative process that involves all parties in the decision-making process, helping to build that relationship. Researchers have found that a good relationship between the professional and client can reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit if an unfortunate incident occurs (Huntington & Kuhn, 2003).
E: Educate yourself. It is essential to stay current with the latest research, trends, and training techniques in the health and fitness industry. Keeping all fitness related certifications current is important for professional practice. Researchers have found that higher injury rates occur when individuals are trained by unqualified professionals (Bianchi et al., 2020; da Costa et al., 2019). Thus, it is essential to provide the best care by staying current with education.
R: Record. Legal experts often recommend recording each client session using pertinent details such as but not limited to client personal information, exercises performed, acute variables, client education, any occurrences during training, and plan for the next session.
A common phrase used among professionals is that “if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen,” which illustrates the need to record each client session (Ethicist, 2016). Good record keeping can help the professional to recall any details of past training sessions.
Accurate records may provide another layer of legal protection but need to be kept confidential due to HIPPA laws (Edemekong et al., 2020). Fitness professionals are considered part of healthcare.
RESOURCES FOR PERSONAL TRAINER INSURANCE
Liability insurance is a standard in the fitness industry. Every fitness professional should have liability insurance to protect themselves in case an unfortunate incident occurs.
THE AUTHOR
