One of the biggest risks commercial property owners face is a visitor suffering an injury on their property.
One slip and fall can start a cascade of events, starting with a premises liability lawsuit seeking financial compensation. Your defense, as a property owner would be proving that you lived up to your duty of care to protect visitors to your property from injury.
Also, since your commercial property policy will not cover property liability, you’ll need commercial general liability coverage as well.
Accidents happen, but if a third party is injured on your commercial property, the chances are high they’ll seek some type of compensation, either for medical costs, lost wages or both. And if they seek out legal counsel, prepare to be sued.
Prevent accidents before they happen
To reduce the chance of an accident, keep a tidy facility and fix any issues that could result in an injury. Take the following steps:
- Be proactive about inspections, repairs and maintenance.
- Have written inspection and maintenance guidelines that meet or exceed industry standards particularly as they concern safety of tenants and guests.
- Ensure your employees closely follow the guidelines and encourage them to report any issues that could result in injury.
In the discovery phase of a lawsuit, a plaintiff may ask for your maintenance and risk management procedures as well as documentation regarding whether you followed those procedures.
Your policies should be extensive and clear, but not overly intricate. Documentation is key to showing that you took reasonable steps to keep the property safe.
Your defense
Keep in mind that the duty is for you to use a reasonable amount of care. What is reasonable is determined in comparison with what an average commercial property owner would do.
There are times when accidents really do happen, and you are not automatically liable for them. You are neither expected to be perfect, nor are you expected to prevent every single mishap.
Rented property
A commercial property owner may not have a duty of care when they are not in control of their property. When the owner leases the property, the lessee may assume the duty of care to maintain the premises in reasonable condition.
A lease should clearly state that the renter is responsible for premises safety and that they indemnify the owner in any lawsuits and pay the costs to defend these lawsuits.
Insurance
Finally, make sure that you have commercial general liability insurance, which covers legal defense and potential settlements or judgments, helping protect your assets and financial stability.
