As a business owner, it’s true to say that you face various risks, regardless of the size of your firm. There’s the possibility of a natural disaster destroying your enterprise’s structure.
An unfavorable political or economic adjustment can also affect your revenue and profits. Besides that, there’s also the risk of being sued for personal injury. This could damage your image and finances.
Natural disasters and political and economic adjustments may be challenging for you to control or prevent. Therefore, as an entrepreneur, you must always be prepared for such uncertain conditions. However, you might have control over and could prevent personal injury claims in your business.
In this article, you’ll learn about some of the ways you could protect your enterprise from these.
Read more: How Business Insurance Coverage Protects Your Assets
How To Shield Your Firm From Personal Injury Cases?
Personal injury cases in a firm can arise if someone gets harmed because of your business. This can be an employee who gets hurt while on duty. Also, it could be any other person who gets injured while on your premises. Additionally, such cases can arise if clients are harmed or their property is damaged as your company works on their site.
A personal injury claim can be costly to your business. Besides that, it could also damage your reputation and cause you to lose an important client or valuable employee. Even though some accidents that lead to personal injury lawsuits may be unpreventable, some are. Provided below are some strategies you could use to protect your business from such claims:
1. Invest In An Insurance Cover
Investing in an insurance policy is the first step you could take to protect your company from a personal injury claim. This will help cover financial costs such as compensation, property repair, and attorney fees. This way, your business is protected from the monetary loss that could result from a personal injury claim.
To do so, you can invest in workers’ compensation. This type of insurance covers the medical expenses, disability benefits, and funeral costs of an employee who gets hurt or dies while working for you. Besides that, you could also get public liability insurance. This type will help if someone is injured on your company’s premises or assets are damaged as your team works on a client’s site. It covers compensation claims, attorney fees, and replacement or repair costs.
In most cases, business insurance premiums are paid monthly or annually. This will depend on what you agree with your insurer. This cost may sometimes seem expensive for your business. However, if you’re faced with a personal injury case, the premiums you pay will help save your company from the enormous financial losses associated with such a matter.
2. Prevent Accidents Before They Happen
You could also protect your business from personal injury claims by preventing accidents from occurring. This means that you should provide your employees with sufficient protective equipment to ensure their safety as they work. Also, make sure floors are always dry to prevent slip and fall injuries in your business building.
Besides that, you must also ensure you regularly inspect and properly maintain your property. This will reduce the risk of accidents caused by faulty structural elements like loose railing, brick, or façade parts.
Regularly inspecting and maintaining company cars is recommended, too. This helps identify vehicle faults before they can cause accidents. Also, if you work with hazardous chemicals, ensure they’re stored properly. Additionally, train your employees on essential safety measures to practice while at work and provide contacts they can call in case of an emergency.
3. Hire An Attorney
Even though you may have observed all necessary precautions in your company, some mishaps may still occur. If an unavoidable accident happens, you should hire a well-experienced and reputable business attorney to defend your firm. These individuals will use their expertise to help identify the responsible party and protect your company from legal liability.
However, if your business is at fault, they’ll help negotiate reasonable settlements with the plaintiff’s lawyer. As a result, they could reduce the number of damages you’ll be required to pay the injured party. This way, you might prevent compensation claims higher than your insurance policy which could make you take unplanned loans or lead to huge financial losses.
Conclusion
Personal injury claims can cause significant monetary damages to your company. Besides that, they could also cause you to lose valuable clients or employees. As you’ve learned from this article, there are a few steps you could take to protect your business from these claims.
As provided above, you can invest in an insurance cover and implement safety measures that’ll help lower the risk of accidents happening in your company. However, since some mishaps may be unavoidable, an attorney could help in case you’re sued for a personal injury claim.
