Whether frivolous or legitimate, these lawsuits can eat away at your firm’s funds as you mount a defense. The key to any general liability defense is solid documentation, which requires that supervisors,managers and executives understand the importance of preserving evidence and keeping a paper trail.
The stakes are growing as more juries are awarding multimillion-dollar damages for claims that 10 years ago may have been worth a fraction of that amount. Without solid documentation, a strong defense can crumble quickly and result in a substantial jury award.
Duty of care comes first
All businesses have a duty of care to ensure their customers are safe on their premises. Failing to meet that duty can result in liability for injuries or property damage.
Let’s look at one of the most common lawsuits filed against a customer-facing business: a slip, trip and fall claim. If you let customers and the public onto your property, you are responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent slip and trip hazards. This can include:
· Providing an entrance mat to prevent customers from tracking in rain and snow, which could create a slip hazard indoors.
· Providing adequate lighting and handrails, particularly at curbs, stairs and walkways,including parking lots where people may walk after dark.
· Conducting regular inspections of floors, steps and carpets and promptly repairing any damage.
· Conducting regular inspections of aisles and cleaning up any spills promptly.
· Conducting regular inspections of appliances to ensure they are not leaking.
· Putting out warning signs when the floor might be wet and slippery.
· Keeping walkways free from cords and other tripping hazards.
Even if you do all of the above, a customer could still slip on a puddle after another customer spills their latte and fails to notify staff.
Someone who slips and falls could sue your company even if your business was not at fault. For example, a customer could be walking in your store while scrolling on their phone and trip over a step that they didn’t see, falling and breaking their wrist. Your staff rush to help and call an ambulance.
A week later, you learn that the customer is suing your business, alleging they slipped on a wet floor. However, none of your staff saw any liquid on the floor. In a case like this, you would need documentation to counter the claim.
The stakes are growing
According to the research firm Marathon Strategies, there were nearly 200 jury verdicts of $10million or more against corporate defendants in 2025, up 40% from 2024. Of those, more than 40 exceeded $100 million. Hotels, restaurants and leisure businesses faced $2.3 billion in aggregate nuclear verdicts across multiple types of litigation.
Even a simple slip-and-fall case could result in a multimillion-dollar award. For example, an Orange County, Florida, jury awarded$11.4 million to a 44-year-old woman who fell in the parking lot of a national retail chain’s store in a shopping center in Winter Garden.
She fell while carrying her child and walking past a landscaping island to avoid holiday traffic and puddles. She missed the seam where the asphalt met the concrete gutter of a curb, which her lawyers described as an unmarked, abrupt change in elevation that violated building codes.
Protecting your firm with documentation
If someone files a lawsuit against your company,documentation can make or break your case. You will need to document ongoing prevention efforts and what happened immediately after an incident. You should:
· Maintain logs of routine inspections and cleaning of the premises. Check these logs regularly to verify that employees are completing them promptly and thoroughly.
· Keep records of prompt responses to potential dangers. For example, if a customer reports a pothole in the parking lot and you notify the landlord (who is responsible for repairing the parking lot), keep a record of that notification.
· Document all incidents and contributing factors as thoroughly as possible. Documentation may include video, photographs and witness statements as well as an incident report. Do this even if you don’t think the incident is serious. Even seemingly minor incidents can lead to lawsuits.
· Report any incidents to your insurer.
· Preserve evidence. After an incident or even a potential incident, retain any relevant surveillance footage and documentation you create after the fact.
Insurance
Lawsuits can be expensive, and it’s imperative that you carry general liability insurance and umbrella insurance to cover claims that may exceed your policy limits.
Call us to schedule a review of your insurance.
