The types of public liability claims businesses can face

Claims for negligence brought against businesses by those outside of the business – be they customers, clients or suppliers – are a very common occurrence these days. Indeed many small law firms, of the kind who advertise regularly on television and radio, specialise in taking on these types of cases – often on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis. What this latter point indicates is just how confident these companies are of winning the majority of the public liability cases they take on – of which there are a number of different types.

Firstly there are the claims for personal injury – meaning injuries sustained by someone not employed by the business, while they are on the premises. This can mean either a customer or a potential or existing client. This type of public liability insurance claim can affect any business which requires customers or clients to visit the business premises, but it is perhaps most likely to be an issue for customer service businesses such as shops, cafés and restaurants, or home-based small businesses.

The next type of claim, is for damage to property or equipment – either belonging to the business, or by an outside supplier. If the equipment is owned by the company, their will not be a suit against it for the damages, but they would be completely liable for the costs of repairs or replacements. However, if it belongs to a supplier, the business would be held liable for damages, as well the aforementioned costs. In addition, the business would have no financial compensation for loss of income suffered as a result of damage to important equipment.

Then there is the area of damages caused by negligence away from the business premises. For example, if a plumber employed by your company failed to tighten a bolt sufficiently while fitting a new sink, leading to flooding of the property – public liability insurance would cover the costs of the subsequent negligence suit.
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