Business owners, especially inexperienced ones, tend to concentrate on profit-and-loss, advertising, and expansion plans while carelessly leaving themselves legally exposed to financial ruin by not taking into consideration their premises liability.
The following overview of this legal concept will give you a better understanding of your obligations and help you make the right decisions to limit your vulnerability.
What is Premises Liability?
As a business owner, you’re liable for ensuring that your property is safe for workers and visitors. The courts expect you to take all reasonable steps to prevent injury.
In other words, you have a responsibility to limit the risk. If you fail to take steps to make your facility safe, you could be found in breach of your duty. When your negligence results in injury, you could be held liable, requiring you to financially compensate the injured party.
Cause of Liability Claims
Failing to maintain the premises, such as letting handrails loosen, elevators malfunction, or parking lots degrade, can lead to liability if someone is hurt as a result.
One of the simplest ways to fall victim to a liability claim is to overlook potential hazards. For example, neglected parking areas are common. Potholes, cracks, and chunks of loose asphalt or concrete can cause trips and falls while also doing significant damage to automobiles.
Slip and fall accidents are the types of incidents most business owners are likely to see. They can be challenging to defend if the circumstances lend themselves to an accident. For instance, if the floor were wet but there was no warning to customers, it would be difficult to prove that the plaintiff faked his accident.
Ignoring local fire codes is, unfortunately, also not unusual. Never violate your occupancy permit. Always seek a written exemption if you want to invite unusually large numbers of people to a special event such as a business celebration, open house, or dedication ceremony.
Some business owners also fail to repair steps, sticky doors, stairwell lights, uneven flooring, and handrails. These small repairs, when ignored, can cost you far more in the wake of a lawsuit.
Take Proactive Measures to Protect Your Business
You can lower the number of potential issues by instituting thorough employee training programs that teach your staff to recognize and identify problem areas quickly. But don’t rely solely on your employees. Instead, you should also implement regular inspections by qualified experts for such matters as fire safety and evacuation procedures.
Insure your business with the proper commercial liability insurance. Verify that you’re receiving the protection your particular enterprise needs. You may have to augment the basic coverage with riders to give you extra protection.
Whichever insurance you choose, review the coverage regularly. Don’t assume that you’re protected. Both your business needs and the insurance company’s standards may change.
Don’t be one of those business owners with the broken surveillance cameras. Insist on keeping your security hardware in excellent condition.
Besides cameras, consider whether you need a security system, additional lighting, fencing, extra locks, and so forth. Remember, you’re not just protecting your property but also the people who work for you.
You definitely want to think of your employees’ long-term health. For example, neglecting a leaky roof could result in the growth of mold. Extended exposure to mold can create or exacerbate a staffer’s illness and lead to a lawsuit. Courts don’t look kindly on owners who put the health of their employees at risk.
Premises liability in its basic form isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. Primarily, it involves taking reasonable actions to make your business location safe for those who work there as well as those who visit. Taking the proper steps to increase safety will lessen your chances of ever being on the wrong side of a lawsuit.