How to Handle a Personal Injury Case Against Your Small Business
Running a small business can be extremely rewarding in a professional and financial sense. The stress that comes along with running a business can be unmatched as making important decisions rarely gets easier. There are disasters that can occur including huge clients opting to end the business relationship and signing a contract with a direct competitor. A nightmare for a number of business owners is that someone is hurt at the business and a lawsuit is filed. The following are tips to handle a personal injury case that has been brought upon your business by a person that has been injured on company premises.
You Need Insurance
The last thing that you want to skimp on is business insurance in case of some form of accident. Legal fees can pile up quickly especially if you do not have a law firm on retainer to represent your business. Most businesses understand the policy that they will need, as a digital marketing company will need a lesser policy than that of a steel factory. Take a look at the different options as this is going to be a fixed cost that you need to account for monthly. Customers should be safe when they are on the property of a business whether it is a dental office or restaurant. The business is obligated to make sure that customers leave unharmed by maintaining a safe space.
Liabilities
There is a chance that a person is attacked in the parking lot of a business which can lead to a lawsuit. The lack of security for a business has come up in court which is the reason larger businesses and office parks have designated security. The slip and fall is a staple of premises negligence of a business. Grocery stores deal with this regularly which is the reason for signage indicating the floor is wet. Without these signs or failure to clean up a chronically wet spot could mean a personal injury lawyer has a case for their client. The unfortunate truth is that some people with little to no ethical standards might seek out a slip in order to be paid. In other cases, the slip is genuine with the company being liable for any injuries sustained, medical costs, and missed wages due to the inability to work. Another aspect to keep in mind is that a person not able to do the things they once enjoyed due to an injury will also play a role in settlement amount rewarded.
Assess Risks
If you are already involved in a personal injury case as a business then enlisting the help of a top lawyer is recommended. Prevention needs to be a focus moving forward to make sure this never happens again. Create a checklist that you can find online to start checking each area that could be a liability. This will include everything from the bathrooms to even the parking lot as tripping over a crack can lead to legal action.
Dealing with a personal injury lawsuit brought upon your business can be a stressful time. You need to take a proactive approach in order to prevent these things from happening as legal fees can dry up cash flow which is important for growth.