What Business Owners Need to Know to Reduce Their Potential Liability for Compensation

6 March 2017
 Categories: Law, Blog

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Any organisation that runs a "business to client" operation has a duty of care to ensure that customers do not encounter obstacles that cause them to slip and fall. They also have an obligation to ensure that employees are similarly looked after, no matter whether it's a public or private environment. A huge number of injuries are reported across Australia each year due to this type of incident, and employers are becoming increasingly vulnerable for large payouts. What do you need to do in order to help safeguard yourself as much as possible against these claims?

Taking Responsibility

As the person responsible for the overall operation of your business, it falls to you to ensure that good housekeeping is the name of the game throughout the workplace. While you may well delegate this, make sure that you have regular meetings to assess any risks.

Being Ready to Respond

Sometimes, you can avoid liability if all your employees are very quick to take action when a risk suddenly appears. A key example here would be a tiled floor becoming slippery because people are carrying water onto it from outside due to a recent rain shower. This risk can suddenly appear, and if you don't put down a warning cone to advise people of the hazard, something could quickly happen.

Removing Risks

On a general basis, always ensure that there are no boxes, rugs or cables to interfere with walkways. Ensure that all areas are well lit and that faulty bulbs are replaced immediately, so people can see where they're going. You also need to ensure that your air conditioning system is properly maintained so that excess levels of compensation do not build up on surfaces, especially floors, with corresponding problems.

Changing the Surface

You may find it better to install a different type of surface, so that you take "slippery" out of the equation. While a tiled floor can certainly look nice, it can be a hazard waiting to happen. See what type of nonslip materials you can come up with to replace your existing flooring and reduce your risks.

Building Your Case

If you're unfortunate enough to have been the host of somebody's slip and fall accident, you need to defend your position as rigorously as you can. This is why it's important to get in touch with compensation lawyers who are experienced in looking at this from both sides of the equation.