There are few things that can be as costly to your business as a lawsuit. When your business is the target of litigation, you can find your business assets drained, and perhaps even be forced to declare bankruptcy. And, even worse, if you haven’t set your business up properly, you may find yourself personally liable for incidents within your business. A key to making sure that you avoid litigation as a business owner is to take preventative measures. Here are three ways that preventative measures can protect your business from lawsuits.
Reduce Dangers
When preventative measures are taken, you can help to reduce the danger before it poses a serious threat to employees or customers. For instance, preventative measures like carpeting hard surfaces, or getting rid of dangerous exposed wires in your workplace eliminate the dangers that were present. This is the best way that preventative measures can help you avoid lawsuits. It’s important to continually evaluate your premises so when possible, dangers are no longer present and therefore cannot pose a litigation risk to you and your business. Reducing dangers as much as possible protects your employees, customers, and your business.
Warn of Safety Risks
When safety risks are clearly labeled at your business, then you are putting yourself in a good position to limit or prevent lawsuits. If you can’t eliminate a safety threat to your employees or customers, then you absolutely must label them clearly, preferably with signage. If there is a particular danger at your business that requires a safe distance to be kept, you should have distancing signs up clearly visible. Distancing signs set clear expectations to protect employees and customers. This way, if an incident occurs, you can ensure that you have taken every possible precaution to warn of the danger present.
Covering All Bases
When you take preventative measures, like clearly labeling threats, eliminating and reducing dangers, and ensuring that your business has thorough liability insurance, you know that you are covering all your bases. When you have all your bases covered, you know that you have done everything to protect from litigation occurring in the first place, and making sure that in the event of lawsuit, you are protected from the risks that it can pose to your business and yourself.
When you have a business, you run the risk of being open to all sorts of lawsuits. A lawsuit at your business doesn’t have to be the end of the world, if you have protected yourself effectively. By understanding these three benefits of taking preventative measures to avoid a lawsuit, you should feel confident that preventative measures are a great way to protect your business. Be sure to thoroughly review all aspects of your business insurance policies with your Agent to ensure you are not surprised if/when something happens.
Read this next: How to Make Your Business Less Risky to Insure
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Views expressed here do not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is for general guidance of matter only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Discussion of insurance policy language is descriptive only. Every policy has different policy language. Coverage afforded under any insurance policy issued is subject to individual policy terms and conditions. Please refer to your policy for the actual language.
