Most businesses do their best to protect their employees and keep their customers safe. But sometimes accidents happen, and people end up getting hurt. This can result in businesses facing expensive lawsuits and medical bills. Read on to find out the damages that you can be held liable for as a business owner.
Damage Caused by Acts of an Employee
Generally, a business is responsible for the actions of its employees. However, this is limited to those acts that are done within the confines of employment or in the course of business. So if someone is injured by an employee while on business premises, they could sue both the employee and the business. However, the keyword there is ‘in the course of business.’
For instance, if someone gets hit by a delivery truck or gets injured as they are passing through a construction site, the employer will be liable too. However, if an employee does something after their shift has ended, in their own time, their employer will not be liable for such actions. It is important to talk to an insurance agency like Cole Harrison Insurance and find out how you can protect your business against such risks.
Customer Injury Due to Negligence on the Part of the Business
A business can be held liable for the injury of one of its customers on the business premises. This happens especially when the injury is due to some sort of negligence on the part of the business. In such cases, the customer might file a personal injury lawsuit against the company. They could also make a third-party insurance claim to your insurance agency to cover the damages.
Employee Injury
Your employees can be injured as they are using heavy equipment or working around dangerous chemicals or materials. Injury can even happen when someone is sitting at a desk. There is a lot that can happen at a workplace. Sometimes these injuries are unavoidable and just happen due to chance. However, if the injury happens because an employer failed to deal with a dangerous condition or failed to provide safety equipment, they will be held liable.
To protect your small business against liability risks, you can get yourself commercial general liability insurance, or CGL insurance. This type of insurance is designed to help cover your business if it turns out that your business is responsible for injuries or damage to property belonging to a customer or a supplier. Get in touch with Cole Harrison Insurance if you need an insurance agency that can provide commercial general liability insurance.
