Public Liability: Assessing Your Risk
Every business owner knows that their customers are always right, but many of them don’t know if their customers are always safe. Many small maintenance items can sneak up on owners: A concrete step that has slowly been sinking for years may now be sunk. A charming tree-lined walkway can now have become so overgrown that it’s dangerous. The exterior window that should have been painted years ago may now be peeling and presenting lead paint dangers to customers.
No matter what potential dangers may exist in your business, sometimes it is difficult to ascertain the extent of damages. When you are so close to your business for so long, you may not notice the sinking step or the overgrown pathway. These gradual changes have occurred every day, and since you were there every day as they occurred, you may not have noticed the changes.
However, it is never more important than now to fix these risks. Our society has become one in which lawsuits are more common than ever. These dangers that your business has become accustomed to could cause dangers to your business in the form of potential lawsuits. So fixing these risky areas in your business store front should be a priority.
Where do I Start?
To begin fixing the areas that may be dangerous to your customers, you must first figure out where the dangers lie. If you are able to step back enough to assess the dangers, you may assess the risks yourself. However, many owners have become accustomed to ducking under a low beam or stepping just right on a shallow stairwell – making it much more difficult to identify these areas as risks.
Often, in these situations, it is preferred to have a third party assess your risks for you or with you. This will enable both you and the assistant to identify areas the other may have missed. You may be able to point out a protruding nail that your clerk continuously catches her apron on, but the third party assessor could identify that uneven cement stair that everyone in your business fails to comment on.
No matter who is assessing the risks, a checklist is often helpful. Checklists can help you take time in assessing different areas, like parking lots, docks, paths, stairwells, and many other potentially dangerous areas of your store. (See our free checklist for details.)
How do I Remedy Problems?
Once you and/or your assistant have identified the risky areas, you must determine which risks need to be fixed first. It is best to list the risky areas according to the danger of each. A rickety stairway, for example, may trump a pothole in the far corner of your parking lot (where no one parks), so fixing the stairway should be tackled first.
From there, work your way down your list to fix the least dangerous areas. Of course, time and money will always determine how much you can tackle and when, but having a list will help you determine what areas are most dangerous to your customers, your employees and yourself – and what needs to be remedied immediately to decrease your liability risk and to increase your store’s safety.
Overall, assessing and fixing your risks can help you maintain a safe and prosperous store, allowing you and your business to protect those near and dear to your store and to you.
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Often hazards are overlooked even when asking an assistant for help. One of the most commonly overlooked dangers is door hinge safety. Each year it is estimated there are nearly 300,000 door-related finger injuries world wide. Many include serious injuries such as broken bones and amputation.
Liability costs for business owners are skyrocketing. Awards in the United States have been as high as $750,000 for a child’s amputated fingertip. Retailers, restaurants and child-care facilities are the most common types of businesses at risk. Most businesses are unaware of the Federal Safety Standards with regard to finger safety. More information about these Standards is available at http://www.fingersafe.com. Our product, Fingersafe® can reduce your exposure to this liability and the installation of our product can be used as proof that you are concerned about the welfare of your clients and/or loved ones regardless their age.
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