Many business owners open up shops out of love for the products and services they provide. If you’re a business owner, once you open up those doors, you also have to be open to understanding premise liability and how it can impact your business.
What Is Premises Liability?
Premises liability is an area of personal injury law that revolves around the safety of your customers and invited guests. If someone suffers an injury at your business, you may be liable for those injuries.
Slip and fall accidents are among the most common, though premises liability lawsuits can be brought against you as the business owner for dangerous obstacles, falling objects, and other hazards. You are responsible for the safety of every person who enters your business.
What Can You Do to Protect Your Business?
Savvy business owners secure premises liability insurance as an extra measure of protection for injuries that occur at the business. While these policies have limitations, they can help keep you covered.
Unfortunately, you may have defects or hazards on your property that likely won’t be covered. You should make sure you fully understand your policy and what it protects.
Ideally, you should discuss premises liability with your attorney and make sure you know how Florida’s laws apply to you.
Without a plan in place, you leave your business vulnerable to a tarnished reputation. Just one slip-and-fall claim could quickly deplete your resources and make it impossible to carry on with daily operations.
Ultimately, mitigating the chances for premises liability claims is the best strategy. Here are some tips to ensure you practice due diligence to keep your clients safe from harm and safeguard your business.
Conduct Regular Property Inspections
Set up a system for regular monitoring and review of your property to watch for any unsafe conditions. Make sure your staff is well-trained on what to do in the event of a hazard, such as a spill on the floor making it wet and slippery. There should be a proper protocol and procedure for how to handle things like these.
You should also inspect rugs, stairs, and other areas. If you find anything that could be a slip, trip, or fall hazard, have it repaired immediately. If there’s anything that can’t be fixed on the spot, make sure you have signage up and block off the area to prevent anyone from walking through the hazard.
Document Repairs
Keep a detailed list of your inspections and the repairs you have made. This will help you keep the property safe.
Provide Ample Warning
Even with a spill, your employees should know how to hustle to put up a “wet floor” sign. Don’t leave anything to chance by ensuring every employee on the floor knows where to find these signs. When a larger issue is present, block it off and add clearly labeled signs that warn people it’s dangerous.
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