As a business owner, you do your best to keep anyone on your business property safe. Unfortunately, precautions can’t solve every possibility, and accidents can still happen. Should such an incident occur, you should first seek medical assistance before requesting legal counsel and creating a plan for the future of your company.
Seek Medical Assistance
First thing’s first: make sure the injured person in question is going to be ok! Above all else, show your concern for the person by seeking the best medical care as quickly as possible. The faster the response, the better the outcome for the injury and for the property it took place on. Your liability for legal accusations against you decreases if you take every measure to help the injured party receive timely and quality medical care.
Seek Legal Counsel
Once the injury has been addressed, seek legal help immediately. There will almost certainly be a case between you and the injured party determining what compensation that injury will merit, which means you will need to defend yourself and your business to prove it was as much an accident for you as it was for them. If the injured person does not file their claim in a timely manner, they may miss the deadline for a civil personal injury suit, meaning your case is safer. Regardless, be quick to obtain a lawyer and begin developing your defensive case, to stay on top of the potential legal backlash.
Create a Plan for the Future
As part of your legal action and establishment of your case, you can prove your dedication to safety by creating a plan of action for future preventative measures. Analyze the timeline and aspects of the injury event, and flag any concerning or contributing elements. Then create solutions to those elements—implement new safety measures and policies, invest in safety materials or technology, and provide instruction (in the form of memos or training) to guests and employees of your company as to how these policies, measures, and materials are to be implemented. Providing this plan not only protects your workers and visitors in the future, it proves to legal systems that you are taking initiative and creating precautions that will prevent similar instances from occurring.
Injuries are never something you want to deal with, but in the unlikely event, you should be prepared. Protect others, your company and yourself by caring for any injured parties, finding legal help, and adapting your business to be safer for everyone.
Getting ready to start your business? We have what you need to succeed!