Being on the receiving end of a lawsuit isn’t fun. Lawsuits can be incredibly costly and time-consuming, and in some cases can lead to reputational damage. Unfortunately, lawsuits against businesses are very common. In fact, 90% of businesses experience a lawsuit at some point. By taking protective measures against lawsuits, you can reduce the damage they cause and in some cases prevent them from happening entirely. Below are 5 ways to protect your business from lawsuits.
Be Careful What You Promise (especially in writing!)
Many businesses get sued for breaking promises – such as not making deadlines or failing to deliver a certain result. This is why it’s so important to be careful of what you promise. This is particularly important when making promises in writing. Written promises can provide hard evidence that can be used against you in court. This doesn’t just include contracts, but emails and texts.
Take Health and Safety Seriously
Many personal injury lawsuits filed against businesses are due to injuries caused by lack of health and safety measures. This could include injuries to employees, clients or random members of the public. It’s important to take health and safety seriously – even if some of these health and safety measures seem ridiculous. Something as simple as putting out a wet floor sign could help legally protect you if someone slips on the wet floor and sues you. A health and safety inspector can carry out an audit to help you identify areas of your business where safety may need improving.
Protect Your Data
Data breaches are becoming increasingly common and they are a common source of lawsuits. Customers and employees are in their right to sue you if sensitive information is stolen. By taking stringent measures to protect your data, you can prevent a breach and prevent any resulting lawsuits. This could include backing up data on a secure cloud server, outsourcing IT services to monitor your networks and using strong passwords.
Cover Lawsuits with Insurance
There are various insurance schemes aimed at businesses that can help compensate you for certain types of lawsuits if you are sued. One specific example is medical malpractice insurance, which can help protect medical clinics and healthcare professionals from medical malpractice lawsuits. Product liability insurance may meanwhile be able to cover manufacturers against lawsuits as a result of faulty products. Take your time to explore the different types of insurance cover that are available and consider covering yourself against the biggest risks.
Have a Trustworthy Lawyer on Call
It’s useful to have a lawyer on call who can provide legal advice when you need it. A lawyer may be able to prevent a dispute from turning into a lawsuit. If it’s too late for that, they may still be able to help you provide a defence and potentially shut down the lawsuit if you can prove there are reasonable grounds to be sued. Take your time to shop around for lawyers and compare reviews and rates. Hiring a lawyer that understands your industry could be useful.
