On a normal day, you would never think about issues that could jeopardize the health of your business. Issues such as liability are never fun to consider. The drawback of not doing so however can be greatly damaging in multiple ways. At best, your business – and potentially you personally – could be required to provide recompense to the aggrieved party or parties. At worst… It could completely bankrupt your business and even lead to jail time if not addressed properly.
Business liability is a huge issue both in the relative cost that can be incurred as well as the hit you can take to your business’s reputation. Take the example of Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. In 2014, a young boy’s foot was dragged into a gap in an escalator in the mall. It took a good deal of work to get him loose, and the subsequent lawsuit claims that the youth’s foot had been heavily damaged to the point of requiring that his toes be amputated. The family has since filed suit claiming negligence on the part of the mall as well as the company that made the escalator.
So, what does a business in this sort of situation do? While the best method is to actually have proper steps in place to prevent the accident in the first place, having proper insurance coverage is also a must. Another must is proper training for your employees, contractors, and other such individuals who may be called upon to perform safety checks, maintenance, or to even be first responders in the case of an accident. And in the event of an unfortunate accident, having a good solid legal team behind you can certainly be quite beneficial.
While no one likes to think about the possibility of facing a lawsuit, it can happen to most anyone. The right team will be able to direct you on how to effectively limit this sort of liability as much as possible. There are many other types of liability that a business may face including that surrounding employment law and terminations which we will discuss at another time.
If you find that you have questions about what sort of liability your business may encounter, please be sure to contact us. We love hearing from you and are always ready to help answer such questions.
