Businesses with good intentions always go the extra mile to keep their customers safe. Despite the best efforts, accidents may still happen, and people may get hurt. To make things worse, your business also faces a risk if customers get hurt at your premises or due to the products you sell. The legal implications of such mishaps are the biggest concern for business owners. You may have to deal with expensive lawsuits and massive settlements. There are also chances of reputational damage to your brand and products. It makes sense to prevent injuries to the customers in the first place. Additionally, you need to have a legal strategy to deal with them if they do happen. Here is all you need to understand about handling legal implications related to customer injuries.
Premises liability claims
If a customer gets hurt on your premises due to your negligence, the business is responsible for their injury. Negligence refers to the failure to take the relevant actions to protect the visitors from foreseeable harm. It may include events like slip and fall accidents, falling objects, faulty escalators, crumbling pavements, and more. If the business fails to provide a safe environment for the customers, and they sustain injuries, the customer can lawfully seek compensation. Not giving adequate warnings also accounts for liability because ignoring things is as bad as negligence. You can expect them to file a premises liability lawsuit and claim hefty compensation if they can prove negligence, causation, and injury.
Defective product claims
Another kind of customer injuries that can end up hurting your business legally is the ones caused by defective products. Such lawsuits often come if you sell an inherently dangerous product, or it has a hazardous manufacturing defect. Also, not providing proper warning labels can get you in a fix if a buyer is injured even because they failed to use it properly. A local injury lawyer can help the victim to seek hefty compensation by filing a claim against your business. Since these injuries do not happen at your premises, the lawsuits may take you by surprise. It is important to have a legal defense team that is always on its toes to handle such cases, right from the investigation to the court appearances.
Staying safe from legal liability
Ensuring customer safety on-premises and product testing should always be your top priority. Apart from these preventive measures, a business owner needs to go the extra mile for safeguarding the company. The best measure to implement is by having general liability insurance cover for the business. It offers coverage against the personal injury claims that your company may face in the course of operations. While you buy general liability insurance, make sure that it covers both premises injuries and defective product claims so that you can be stress-free even if you encounter a lawsuit at any point. Insurance may cost a bit, but it can save you a fortune in the long run, in terms of legal costs and settlement values.
The last thing you would want to face is customer injuries, on-site, or due to defective products. While you need to prevent mishaps, it is also vital to have a proper legal action plan to stay safe.
