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4 Tips to Protect Commercial Real Estate Against Premises Liability Claims

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 05 June 2019 05:14
4 Tips to Protect Commercial Real Estate Against Premises Liability Claims

When it comes to commercial real estate, businesses or property owners have a lot of responsibilities. First and foremost, their job is to take reasonable care of the property to prevent injury. If they fail at this task, they could be held liable for injuries.

Although personal injury case filings are on the decline, there were still 53,000 cases filed in 2017. It's important for businesses and owners of commercial real estate to be prepared for potential liability. Commercial property owners are often the targets of these lawsuits, as they’re easier to locate and usually have some form of insurance that would cover these types of damages.

1. Make Sure That You Have Enough Insurance Coverage

Having adequate premises liability insurance coverage is crucial. You need to ensure that you have the right type and amount of coverage to pay for potential damages and medical expenses. Some general liability policies have exclusions that need to be supplemented and investigated.

According to Chudnovsky Law, a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, injured victims may pursue the following damages:

  • Lost wages and benefits
  • Medical expenses
  • In-home care
  • Pain and suffering
  • Travel expenses
  • Loss of consortium
  • Punitive damages

It’s important to ensure that your policy will cover such damages in case a patron or visitor is injured on your property.

Ideally, your insurance company should be well-known and have a reputation for payouts. The broker you work with should be able to properly assess the environment to ensure that you have adequate coverage. Along with general risk factors, the assessment should also target the right asset class.

If you have assets in higher crime areas, for example, you would be expected to prove your due diligence in preventing crimes on these properties. These events are considered foreseeable because of the socioeconomic climate they operate in.

2. Hire Adequate On-Site Security

Negligent or inadequate security is one path personal injury attorneys utilize to hold property owners liable for premises injuries. In most situations, it is advisable for commercial property owners to invest in dependable on-site security provided by a high quality, third party security firm.

Third party security firms will have their own liability insurance which acts as a first layer of defense if sued for an incident involving crimes on premises or security guards. Professional security guards in uniform also look good and demonstrate to tenants and the public that the property owner cares about visitor safety.

3. Hire the Right Attorney

Don’t wait until there’s a problem to find a good defense attorney. Along with a good reputation, you also want to ensure that the attorney you hire has experience with your type of property.

Owners of luxury hotels are not always exposed to the same risks of owners of stores in low-income, high-crime areas.

The right attorney with the right experience will have the knowledge needed to ensure that you’re adequately covered and prepared for a potential claim and skilled in defense strategies if you get sued.

4. Understand Your Risks

Your insurance broker and attorney understand the risks associated with your commercial property, but do you?

A wide range of accidents can lead to a premises liability claim, including:

  • Slip and fall accidents: The most common type of injury that occurs on commercial property. Wet floors, inadequate lighting, cracked pavement and uneven stairs can lead to a slip-and-fall accident.
  • Negligent or inadequate security: Injuries due to criminal or other acts that may have prevented if the property owner had provided reasonable security measures to protect lawful visitors from foreseeable crimes of third parties.
  • Toxic chemical exposure: Exposure to toxic chemicals can cause injuries, such as overly excessive levels of chlorine in pools.
  • Escalator accidents: Improper maintenance or faulty installation of an escalator can cause injuries – often serious ones.

When you understand your risks, you can ensure that your insurance policy covers all of these risks.

While there’s no surefire way to prevent a premises liability claim, you can take steps to reduce the risks by following the tips above.

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James Stevenson

Hi, My name is James and I've been involved in the property and real estate industry for 10 years now. I hope people will like to read about my thoughts and experiences in the industry and please contact me if you want to discuss my articles further!

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