Woman who had toes amputated sues LA Fitness

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A woman who had all of her toes amputated after passing out in an LA Fitness sauna wants the gym to pay up.

Charmaine Johnson says she passed out inside a sauna at a Gwinnett County LA Fitness, and no one found her for two hours.

"Just thinking about it, and crying because of all the hurt, the pain, the saga, the whole thing going through," Johnson said.

When Johnson woke up she was in the hospital with severe burns on her legs and feet.

A surgeon amputated all 10 of Johnson's toes, and she spent nearly two months in the hospital.

The once very active Johnson uses special shoes to get around, and some of the simplest tasks are now difficult.

"It's just horrific, you know, just the same thing like bend down and pick something up," Johnson said. "Simple things like that you can't do. You just have to think before you do it, because if not you're going to fall, tip over."

Attorney Jesse Kent represents Johnson in a lawsuit recently filed against LA Fitness.

"They've been forthcoming, they've provided everything we've asked for so far," Kent said.

The complaint claims gross negligence by LA Fitness and seeks damages.

"Somebody was asleep at the wheel. It seems like. I don't know if they've got policies or procedures in place to check for people," Kent said.

Kent says he had an expert inspect the sauna at LA Fitness.

"It looks like there are some issues with the sauna itself, it doesn't look like it has the proper ventilation," Kent said. "Doesn't look like it's going to circulate air through there properly, and I think that's a real problem for both my client and the defendant in this case."

Johnson says her focus is getting herself back together, moving forward and moving ahead.

We called and emailed the attorney representing LA Fitness in this case, and have gotten no response.

WSBTV