3 Tips To Avoid Being Sued

None of us are perfect.  Disputes and accidents are perhaps inevitable.  Lawsuits can be time consuming, expensive, and overall unpleasant.  In the spirit of Abraham Lincoln ("Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."), here are 3 tips from a personal injury lawyer to decrease the odds that you or your business will be named in a lawsuit:

1.    Put It In Writing

This tip is so basic, yet so important and seldom done in our everyday life. Writings allow us to: (1) memorialize our communication; (2) confirm our intent; and, (3) enforce contracts.

Many routine transactions involving homeowners and small businesses can be avoided or quickly resolved by referring to past written communications such as emails, invoices, policies, or contracts itself.

In the personal injury field, writings can be important evidence to establish that homeowners and small business owners take safety seriously and did not act negligently.  Businesses that have written handbooks, procedures, and policies may also receive better insurance rates. 

It is a good practice to record safety policies and teach them to employees.  Similarly, keeping track of when property maintenance was done (such as snowplowing) is powerful evidence to refute negligence claims.

For business and healthcare professionals, these same principles apply to prevent and discourage malpractice claims.  There is nothing more helpful to a plaintiff’s lawyer than the absence of records or sloppy record-keeping, or worse yet – records that were fabricated or created after the fact.  To protect your business, you should record telephone messages from clients or patients and maintain neat, complete records.  None of us have perfect memories, but by routinely recording office visits and patient/client communications contemporaneously, we can later to refer to those notes to refresh our memories and to confirm that we acted reasonably and within the standard of care.

2. Habitually Use Common Sense Safety Precautions

Get in the habit of thinking about safety.  For homeowners and small businesses, we need to be aware of property safety.  The law does not require us to "guarantee" the safety of those on our property.  But we do not a duty to use reasonable care towards those on our property.  The Rhode Island Supreme Court has stated that there is "an affirmative duty upon owners and possessors of property: 'to exercise reasonable care for the safety of persons reasonably expected to be on the premises * * * include[ing] an obligation to protect against the risks of a dangerous condition existing on the premises, provided the landowner knows of, or by the exercise of reasonable care would have discovered, the dangerous condition.'" Kurczy v. St. Joseph Veterans Association, Inc., 820 A.2d 929, 935 (R.I. 2003) (quoting Tancrelle v. Friendly Ice Cream Corp., 756 A.2d 744, 752 (R.I. 2000)). 

No, we are not required to continuously shovel our walks during a snowstorm.  But premises liability law, obligates us to clear the snow within a reasonable time of when the storm has stopped.  The CDC has published helpful home safety checklists here.

We need to understand, and comply with, applicable safety standards, such as the Rhode Island Building Code or Americans With Disabilities Act.  One simple, inexpensive tip for homeowners and small businesses: Ask a professional home inspector or contractor who is familiar with the Rhode Island Building Code to inspect your home or business and provide you with a punch-list of any potential safety issues to remedy.

 3. Maintain Adequate Insurance and Communicate With Your Insurer

When good people are legitimately injured by another’s negligence, insurance policies provide compensation to these victims while protecting the at-fault party from financial disaster.  Lawyers and victims understand that in the majority of cases, injuries were not caused out of malice or intentional conduct.

Insurance is required for homeowners and auto operators and a must have for small business.  The key is to purchase adequate insurance limits because: (1) minimum limits will not provide financial security to us when a tragedy occurs; (2) purchasing additional insurance is typically not cost prohibitive; and, (3) insurance companies are more likely to settle a case within policy limits if we have higher limits.

When a claim is made against us, we must take action.  Insurance policies require us to notify our insurer of a potential claim and to cooperate with them.  But beware, as pointed out in a fascinating book, insurers are not our friends.  That is, insurers are out to maximize their profits by paying out the least amount in claims.  This conflict may put us at financial risk and force us into litigation when the injured party refuses our insurers’ "lowball" offer.  Therefore, it is often advantageous to communicate directly with our insurer.  In certain instances, we may be well-served by retaining our own independent lawyer to communicate with and help make sure that we are being treated fairly.

Hopefully, these 3 tips will keep you and your business prosperous, safe, and out of the courtroom!