Intro:
As a business owner, you face several responsibilities. You work to keep your company afloat financially and abide by all location, state, and national regulations. One legal aspect that’s important to stay on top of is personal injury claims. Even if you’re a sole proprietorship, it’s best to work to prevent these claims.
The following are five ways to help you avoid getting a personal injury.
1. Be Proactive
Personal injury falls under tort law. It protects individuals against negligence. The public also receives protection against an individual or company’s failure to act. When negligence and failure to act lead to harm, the harmed has the right to legally press for compensation.
A great way to prevent personal injury is to take a proactive stance. Freak accidents and acts of God occur, but the other types of accidents you can prevent.
Assess the types of accidents likely to occur at your facility, by your products, and on your property. Then take steps to prevent them. Owners of trucking companies, for example, must manage their driver’s schedules so that there’s time for them to sleep and rest in between long hours of driving.
2. Create a Workplace Safety Plan
Preventing personal injury involves creating a workplace safety plan. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration Department offers several resources.
Additionally, OSHA sets down workplace safety protocols. In manufacturing plants, workers must understand how to exercise caution and safety. Plus, provide them with necessary safety gear, clothing, and accessories.
Once you develop the workplace safety plan, share it with all staff members, employees, and workers through workshops and seminars. Then task managers encourage the continued practice of safety protocols among their team members.
A safety plan includes pointing out potential hazards, an outline of work procedures, and a post in the breakroom detailing compliance standards.
When you go to the grocery store, you’ll see the cones that let everyone know the floor is wet because it was just mopped. Some employee break rooms dedicate a wall to posters that outline compliance standards for that type of business.
3. Maintain General and Liability Insurance
Insurance falls into prevention. In case an injury occurs, insurance protects you against the cost of litigation. It takes one to two years to see the case through. If both parties opt for mediation, it still takes nine to 18 months to settle the case.
Defending your company in court eats a lot of resources.
Most states require business owners to maintain insurance, such as fire, theft, and accidental. So, keep your insurance policies current.
Insurance helps you keep your company’s doors open when you incur expensive litigation cases. Your policy protects your business against the loss of assets in most situations.
4. Maintain Personal Injury Representation
Maintaining access to legal representation helps prevent lengthy personal injury claims. Solid personal injury representation may prevent the situation from heading to court or forcing a settlement.
Personal injury lawyers deal with frivolous claims. If your case falls into frivolous territory, they’ll be able to guide you through the situation. In cases where your company is at fault, a personal injury attorney guides you and prevents additional mistakes.
This guide helps you understand personal injury in a little more depth.
5. Take Action if an Injury Occurs
When personal injury accidents occur among your workers, your customers, or at your commercial space, take action.
Help the injured person by bringing in medical assistance. Once they’re taken care of, call your legal representation and start bringing them up to speed on the situation. Next, start gathering witnesses and piece together the event.
Since the accident occurred on your property and watch, you’re responsible for the outcome. Humans aren’t perfect, so humans sometimes cause injury and harm to themselves through their own negligence. As the defendant, you will spend time and money to bring this to light.
Conclusion
In 2018, unintentional injuries led to 167,000 deaths, the third leading cause of death in the United States. The three leading factors included poisonings, vehicle accidents, and falls. Since the 1990s, workplace accidents have decreased. The fields most impacted by workplace injuries were logging workers, fishers, and aircraft pilots. Nonetheless, taking a proactive approach is best to prevent a personal injury.
