Final answer:
The gym owners took an action or failed to act in a way that showed a substantial disregard for the safety of their patrons, which elevated the case from ordinary negligence to gross negligence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The case mentioned seems to revolve around a claim of gross negligence due to an action or omission by the gym owners. In legal terms, gross negligence is a severe form of negligence that goes beyond mere forgetfulness or failure to exercise ordinary care. It usually suggests an act or a failure to act that is so reckless that it demonstrates a substantial disregard for the safety of others. For the gym owners' action to elevate the case from ordinary negligence to gross negligence, they must have done something that showed an extreme lack of care or a willful disregard for the safety of the gym members, such as knowingly keeping malfunctioning equipment in use without warning users of possible dangers, thereby leading to an injury.