We live in a litigious society, and just about every business will be sued sooner or later. Litigation may be inevitable for American businesses, but that does not mean entrepreneurs should resign themselves to paying thousands or even millions of dollars in damages to civil plaintiffs. Let’s look at some ways business owners can protect themselves from litigation and stay one step ahead of personal injury lawsuits.
Choose the Right Business Structure
People who start businesses are often anxious to open their doors and start trading as soon as possible, but this eagerness to get started can lead to mistakes. Setting up a sole proprietorship is the easiest way to go into business in America, but this business structure has a very large drawback. If an injured customer sues a sole proprietor, they risk losing their personal as well as their business assets. Entrepreneurs can protect their personal assets from business-related lawsuits by setting up corporations or limited liability companies.
Take Reasonable Precautions
Most of the personal injury lawsuits businesses in the United States face are filed by people who were hurt in slip-and-fall accidents. Juries award damages in these cases when the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by dangerous conditions that the defendant either knew about or should have known about. If a business owner acts proactively and does all that they reasonably can to address hazardous conditions and prevent injuries, they could prevail in a premises liability lawsuit even if the plaintiff suffered serious injuries.
Carry Enough Liability Insurance
When people buy insurance, they tend to be more interested in the money they will be spending than the protection they will be receiving. When entrepreneurs do this, their businesses can be left seriously underinsured. Juries are unpredictable and sometimes award civil plaintiffs millions of dollars in damages for injuries that do not seem all that serious. When businesses that do not carry enough liability insurance lose in court, they have to sell business assets to raise the money to pay damages.
Hire With Care
Businesses should be very careful about who they hire because they may be ordered to pay damages if their employees act recklessly or negligently while on the job and injure others. Business owners can protect themselves against this vicarious liability by hiring with care, providing comprehensive training, and supervising their workers closely. This is especially important when employees handle hazardous materials or operate dangerous machinery. Business owners can also improve their chances of prevailing in court by hiring capable and experienced personal injury attorneys.
Reasonable Care
Business owners do not have to be perfect to avoid being ordered to pay damages to personal injury plaintiffs, they just have to do all that they reasonably can to prevent accidents and injuries. The law is not designed to make sure that every accident victim receives compensation, it is designed to punish negligence and recklessness. If business owners do not act negligently or recklessly, they may prevail in personal injury cases even when the plaintiffs were badly hurt.
