The public nature of premises liability litigation catches the eye of many people who think a lawsuit is the easiest way to make a quick fortune. For example, a man in New Jersey recently attempted to sue a company for a fall. Fortunately, the company caught the fake fall on surveillance video, and the man received criminal charges of theft by deception and insurance fraud.
Surveillance cameras are just one way to protect a company from losing everything in a lawsuit. Here are three others.
- Purchase adequate insurance
Forbes notes that a small business owner may need many different types of insurance, including the following:
- General and professional liability insurance
- Property insurance
- Business owner’s insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Data breach insurance
- Life insurance
- Renter’s or homeowner’s insurance
- Personal umbrella insurance
- Personal and commercial auto insurance
- Protect insurance policies
Companies can lose their coverage and make it difficult to purchase new policies. An insurance company may back out if a business owner does not comply with regulations, intentionally causes harm to employees or consumers, uses company money for personal purchases or provides invalid guarantees.
Another way to lose insurance is to operate as the wrong business entity, such as a sole proprietorship operating as an LLC. Insurance coverage is usually specific to business classification.
- Train employees
An employee who neglects to clean up spills or drives the company car while reading a text is a liability. With proper training and an employee handbook that clearly defines policies and procedures, an employer has a much better chance of avoiding employee misconduct that leads to an injury and a lawsuit.
