Most business owners are not fully aware of the magnitude of potential liability they face in the event that they become the subject of a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Even a partial list of possible causes of action (which appears below) is frightening, especially if you own a small business.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to mitigate your risks. Read on to learn more, and contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Dallas if you need legal guidance.
Potential Liability Texas Business Owners Face
Businesses face the following types of potential personal injury liability, among others:
- Premises liability: Liability arising from a dangerous condition on real property
- Product Liability: Liability arising from a defective and unreasonably dangerous product
- Vicarious liability (respondeat superior): If you are an employer, you can bear liability for the misconduct of your employees
- Car and truck accidents: Businesses can face vicarious liability for negligent driving by their employees
- Professional malpractice, including medical and legal malpractice
- Negligent hiring: Liability can arise from the actions of an employee that you failed to properly vet when you hired them
- Negligent supervision of employees, guests, and customers
Unfortunately, this is only a partial list. Indeed, a full list of potential legal liabilities would amount to a virtual Pandora’s box of legal risks.
Steps to Take to Protect Your Business from a Lawsuit
Protecting your business against personal injury risk is a never-ending journey. What’s sufficient today might not be enough tomorrow. Below, however, are five basic steps you can take that will make a real difference in your level of preparedness.
Conduct Regular Safety Inspections of Your Premises
Suppose someone suffers an injury on your commercial property. They might assert a premises liability claim by trying to trace the cause of their harm to the negligent behavior of you or one of your employees.
Texas law requires certain property owners (or, in some cases, tenants) to conduct a reasonable inspection of their property. Upon finding a dangerous condition, they must either repair it or warn guests of it. Conduct such inspections regularly.
Hire Carefully
Hiring employees and independent contractors is a legal minefield.
You can face liability in at least three ways:
- Negligent hiring of an employee whose eventual misconduct was predictable from the start
- Negligent supervision of an employee who never should have been hired in the first place
- Vicarious liability for the wrongful behavior of an employee, even if you were not in any way at fault
Institute strict hiring practices that reduce your risk of accidentally hiring an employee who will make you sorry later.
Establish Clear and Comprehensive Safety Regulations
There is nothing you can do that will better help you avoid liability than to establish a comprehensive set of internal safety regulations. A lawyer can help you draft these regulations.
Train Your Employees to Perform Their Duties Safely
Institute regular training programs that prepare your employees to:
- Handle the technical aspects of their jobs safely
- Became aware of and fully comply with all applicable safety protocols
These programs should include company regulations as well as state, local, and national safety standards. Training costs money, but considering the costs of a personal injury claim, it is one of the most cost-effective ways of spending your money.
Purchase Appropriate Insurance
No matter how careful you are, sooner or later, something is bound to go wrong. So, how do you avoid bankruptcy when it does?
Consider purchasing the following types of insurance, depending on the kind of business you run:
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- General liability insurance
- Professional liability insurance (malpractice insurance, for example)
- Product liability insurance
- Commercial auto insurance
- Umbrella liability insurance
- Premises liability insurance
- Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance
You probably don’t need all of these forms of insurance, but you almost certainly need some of them. Conduct an audit of your business to determine which types of insurance to buy.
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This post brought to you by Kristina Rodopska.
Photo: iStock
