An adverse result in a personal injury lawsuit can bring a small business toppling to the ground. In extreme cases, a jury might award an injured plaintiff millions of dollars. When facing this kind of risk, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You might want to talk to a personal injury firm like thebradleylawfirm.com to protect your business from an injury lawsuit in St. Louis, MO.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Business in St. Louis, MO
There is no way to reduce your risk of a personal injury lawsuit to zero. To minimize your risk of a workplace accident, however, take advantage of the following principles.
Safety Measures for St. Louis Business
Premises liability law requires the owner or operator of premises not only to repair dangerous conditions but also to inspect the premises for non-obvious dangers and repair them as well.
Perform regular building maintenance, and make it a point to comply with all statutory and regulatory standards. Breaking a safety regulation constitutes automatic negligence in St. Louis, and it leads to liability if someone suffers an injury that way.
Following is a list of workplace dangers that you need to watch out for:
- Exposed electrical wires
- Broken or uneven flooring
- Slippery surfaces
- Poor lighting in work areas
- Obstructed emergency exits
- Inadequate fire safety measures
- Unsecured shelves or cabinets
- Faulty or unguarded machinery
- Lack of safety signage
- Insufficient personal protective equipment
- Unsafe lifting practices
- Cluttered walkways or workspaces
- Exposed sharp objects or tools
- Chemical spills or improper chemical storage
- Inadequate training on equipment use
- Overcrowded work areas
- Poorly maintained office equipment
- Lack of ergonomic workstations
- Excessive noise levels
- Inadequate ventilation or exposure to fumes
- Unmarked or unsafe stairs and steps
- Inadequate first aid facilities
- Electrical hazards like overloaded sockets
- Inadequate emergency response plans
Take a proactive and safety work approach to all of these dangers–don’t wait until something happens.
Appropriate Training and Hiring Procedures
Safety measures won’t matter unless your employees are trained to use them. Institute safety training for all new employees, and hold regular seminars to remind your employees what you expect of them.
Second, institute a hiring protocol that ensures you will never merit a lawsuit based on negligent hiring. Check the background of every potential employee so that you don’t, for example, hire someone with a DUI history to drive the company van.
Maintain Proper Insurance Coverage for your St. Louis Business
Insurance costs money now, but it could save you a lot more money later. Consider carrying the following types of insurance for your business in St. Louis, MO:
- General liability insurance, which protects you against financial loss due to defending lawsuits, property damage, physical injury, and more.
- Product liability insurance, which protects you against liability based on a defective product that causes an injury.
- Professional liability insurance (if you offer professional services), which protects you from liability for acts of professional negligence or malpractice.
Also, please note that workers’ compensation insurance is a legal requirement in Missouri.
Put Cameras Everywhere in your St. Louis Business
Your business or your employee might get falsely accused of a personal injury in St. Louis. To avoid unfair liability, place surveillance cameras everywhere except the toilets and keep them on all the time, even after hours. Keeping your cameras in your business on will give you access to the truth when you need it.
Talk to a St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer
Do your best to avoid problems. When you can’t, however, seeking the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer is your next best option. A St. Louis personal injury lawyer can help you avoid a claim, settle for a low amount, or win a trial, as necessary.
Workplace Injuries and Workers’ Compensation in St. Louis, MO
Under almost any circumstance, your employer cannot sue the company for personal injury in St. Louis. Instead, the worker must make a claim under workers’ compensation insurance. Compensation payable under workers’ compensation is very small compared to the liability you would have in a full-blown personal injury lawsuit.
Avoiding Employer Liability: Final Thoughts
Under the ancient legal doctrine of respondeat superior (“Let the master answer”), you cannot avoid vicarious liability under certain circumstances. If your employee, acting in the scope of their employment, commits misconduct that injures someone, the employer is liable.
That means anyone with a personal injury claim against an employee who was acting within the scope of their employment also has a personal injury claim against the company that employed them. The only ways to avoid this liability are to refrain from hiring employees altogether or to make sure that your employees don’t engage in any misconduct, including negligence.
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