Am I Liable If Someone Gets Hurt on My Business Premises?
Many of the laws in the United States indicate that we as human beings have some obligations to one another. If we don’t live up to those obligations, we have breached our responsibility, which can result in an injury. In some cases, it can be confusing to determine who is responsible for the injury.
If you are a business owner, you have to take certain measures to ensure that people are safe when they’re on your commercial property. If you don’t make the effort to make your property as safe as possible and someone is hurt as a result, you could be held responsible.
In many instances, the injury could be a combination of the victim’s actions and the property owner’s failure to execute safety measures. It is necessary to seek legal counsel to figure out how much liability falls on each party.
If you’re wondering whether you’re liable if someone is hurt on your property, here is some important information to keep in mind.
The Liability Investigation
There are several factors that will help determine liability. if the case is very serious, your lawyer may hire an investigator to research these factors. Your attorney and investigator may use:
- Witnesses, if anyone was present at the time of the injury to see if they remember details of the event.
- An incident report if the accident occurred on a business site, especially a retail location. Your attorney will read what was documented from the perspective of the business.
- Weather records from a reliable government source like the NOAA to determine if the injury happened as a result of the weather.
- A police report, which is necessary if the injury was serious enough that you had to call an ambulance or provide immediate medical attention to the victim.
- Medical records to determine whether the victim saw a doctor or had to go to the emergency room.
Your liability investigation will likely be expedient and may not interrupt your business dealings. Once your lawyer has all the necessary information, they will file a claim to prove that you are not responsible for the accident. The victim’s attorney will compose a “Good Faith Claim” to state that the circumstances were a breach of duty on your part as a business owner, and this breach led to the accident.
A Medical Endpoint and Claims Package
When an individual comes to a medical endpoint, they have either healed from the injury or they are as physically restored as they are going to be. The attorney will then work to determine the medical status of the victim and present this evidence to court.
Once the case has been fully investigated by a lawyer, the lawyer will submit a Claims Package detailing the amount in damages that the victim can reasonably request. The package includes lost wages, medical bills, evidence of damage and liability, loss of vocational capability, and pain and suffering. It then goes to the insurance company and three options are included: settlement, meditation, or trial. Most cases end in settlement or mediation.
Discovery Process
The discovery process is the transferring of information between the parties involved in the incident. This is a normal part of the lawsuit, and your attorney will schedule a trial at this stage. However, most cases will be settled before the trial phase, which means you may not have to show up in court, especially if the other party realizes that you intend to go to trial if the matter is not settled out of court.
It’s best to contact a premises liability lawyer as soon as possible if someone is injured on your property. An attorney who is skilled in this aspect of law can let you know if you are partially or fully liable, as well as the necessary steps to take to make sure the victim is properly compensated and you maintain a favorable reputation as a business owner.
