Lawsuits can bring down businesses – they’re both costly and potentially damaging to one’s reputation. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to lawsuits brought on by customers, vendors or their competitors. There have been cases when the business had to close the doors because of the time, effort and money spent in fighting the lawsuit. While it is best to not get involved in the lawsuits in the first place there are times when you have to take a stand and defend your business with all the might. Here are some ways that you can defend your business from being sued.
Lawyer up
Having a solicitor on call can be handy for when a lawsuit occurs. A solicitor will be able to advise you on what steps to take in order to argue your case as well as preventing future lawsuits. You should always hire a solicitor that you trust. When doing your research, check website for testimonials and ask solicitors about the kinds of business they’ve worked for in the past.
Get contracts professionally written
Written contracts are important for protecting agreements made between you and your clients/employees. If agreements are broken, you can use a contract as proof that you both originally agreed to those terms. This could help to prevent clients or employees making lawsuits against you for failing to supply something you never originally agreed to. Contracts need to be professionally written so that the wording cannot be misinterpreted. You may be able to find legal writers to hire at sites like upwork.com.
Keep legal paperwork organised
It’s important to keep any legal documents organised in a place that you can easily find them if you need to use them as evidence. You can download software for storing all these legal documents at sites like symfact.com. Digital copies are likely to be safer than physical copies, although some people may still want to keep physical legal documents. These should all be filed together in a place that cannot be easily accessed without permission such as a safe.
Get your business insured
If there’s no way of preventing a lawsuit, being insured could at the very least provide the necessary compensation without you having to dig into your own pocket. Some lawsuits can cost companies thousands, but with insurance this could all be paid for. Employer liability insurance is compulsory and can protect you against claims from sick/injured employees, however you may want to consider other insurance schemes for defending yourself against injuries to customers, loss of personal data and faulty products. There may be an insurer out there that can provide all of these policies under one scheme, which could make these schemes easier to keep track of.
Take preventative measure against any risks
This is largely general advice as there’s so many risks that could lead to a lawsuit. Arranging a health and safety audit to get rid of dangers could be one solution, as well as upping your security in order to protect the data of your employees and customers. Thoroughly training new employees and providing a handbook could also prevent your staff making errors that could lead to lawsuits. Meanwhile, if you sell a product, make sure that it is thoroughly tested for faults before being sold. All of this could help to make your business lawsuit-proof.
