Tag Archives for " general liability "

Preventing Slip and Fall Incidents at Your Home or Business

We may not get much ice in Central Florida, but many other potential hazards can cause someone to slip and fall at your house or your office. Central Florida also has a large elderly population who are all potential fall victims. Steps must be taken to keep them from falling. Prevention is the key to eliminating slip and fall hazards and preventing serious injury from occurring due to negligence. Here are a few ways that you can make both your home or business safe from slip hazards:

Tips for Preventing Slip and Fall Accidents

• If a slippery substance such as oil, grease, or a household cleaner spills at your home or business, it should be cleaned immediately. As you undertake cleanup, ensure adequate signage is used to alert customers, employees, or family that a slip hazard is in the area. 
• Regular inspections and cleaning of high-traffic areas or work areas where oil and grease are used should be made.
• Ensure sufficient lighting is around your home, in parking lots, on sidewalks, walkways, and in stairwells to ensure they are visible. LED lights are best for commercial settings because they light a wider area and deter crime.
• Bunched carpets, loose tiles, and uneven flooring can all cause someone to trip and should be repaired.
• Potholes that are not filled present a hazard where someone could twist or break an ankle or fall and break a bone.
• Water that runs into a parking area can quickly become slippery, and the source of the runoff should be dealt with to prevent any slipping.

Stairs and Ramps

• Handrails are an effective way to prevent the disabled and elderly from falling.  Installed securely in stairways, ramps, halls, and bathrooms, they can help people to have a sense of independence while at the same time eliminating the potential for a fall.
• Broken or loose steps in a stairwell are a recipe for a lawsuit if someone falls due to disrepair.
• Make sure stairwells are lit well and have something that will increase friction, such as carpet or non-slip treads.

Lawn Areas

• Ensure lawn areas are kept mowed to 7 inches or less so that hidden items such as a sprinkler or tree roots are visible.
• Don’t leave old toys, tools, or portable sprinkles on the lawn, so they do not become trip hazards.
• Make sure to keep lawn areas and the exterior of homes free of stinging insects like wasps so that customers or family members are not stung.

Walkways

• Clear your walkways of ladders, tools, or anything else that could be a potential trip hazard.
• Make sure walkways are even and have no large cracks. Repairs should be made if either one of these conditions exists.

What to do if a Slip and Fall Happens on Your Property

• Seek medical attention for the injured party if needed.
• Gather critical information such as the injured party’s name and the time of the day the slip or fall incident occurred. The location of the incident. What happened at the time of the accident (was it the injured party’s fault?) Take pictures of the scene and, if possible, of the injuries sustained by the person who fell.
• If you or someone who experienced the accident must file a claim, contact your insurance company promptly. Follow the insurance company’s instructions to document the claim correctly.
• If a severe injury occurs due to a slip or trip, contacting an attorney may be in your best interest.

All that is needed to stop slip and fall accidents is to care enough to prevent them. If you have any questions about Liability Insurance, contact us via email or at (863) 646-LOCK.

Professional Liability Insurance

Whatever your profession, protecting yourself with professional liability insurance is not just an intelligent thing to do but a necessity in today’s litigious society. You have worked hard and put in years of education and work to get where you are in your career. You could lose everything you have worked so hard to achieve without the right coverage for potential negligence suits.

What It Covers

General liability insurance can protect you from various claims against you and your business. Still, it will not protect you from the type of lawsuit that can result from the simple errors we are all capable of making. Nor will it protect you from claims made against you that are unfounded. Remember that even if there is no truth to the accusations against you, you can still find yourself in court defending yourself and your professional reputation against them at a very high cost to you.

Those who provide a service or advice, or any other way, use their knowledge and experience to help others who need professional liability insurance. This includes errors and omissions insurance and malpractice insurance, both of which are types of professional liability. The similarity is that the types of lawsuits brought against professionals are usually based on actions, advice, or services that may not have caused property damage or direct injury but can in some way be shown to be a result of the professional’s negligence.

Don’t Take Chances

You do your best to provide sound advice and ensure that everything you do and offers to your clients is as accurate and helpful as possible, but everyone makes mistakes. And even when you didn’t make a mistake, all it takes is someone unhappy with the outcome to turn on you and put the blame at your feet. These lawsuits can cost professionals incredible money, even if you win. Paying out on such a lawsuit can easily bankrupt even the most well-off professional.

Professional liability insurance allows you to defend your good name in court against accusations and payout on settlements when you are found to be negligent. Without it, you could find yourself not only out a lot of money, but your reputation could be on the line because you cannot fight an unfounded lawsuit. Don’t take chances; protect everything you have worked so hard for with the right professional liability policy for your industry.

Your insurance agent can help you ensure you have the coverage you need for complete peace of mind.

How Much Should Liability Insurance Cost?

Factors that Affect Liability Insurance

Several factors decide the price of Liability Insurance:

• The number of employees and the sub-contractors cost (many do not understand their sub-contractors affect their rate even when they carry their insurance).
• How many Owners – if one of the owners is not active or in the field working, we can sometimes exclude them.
• Gross receipts – the total you bring into the business before paying all your expenses.
• The type of work you do – insurance companies call them class codes. Every kind of job description will be placed with a code or similar risk and can be grouped.

Several factors can hinder you with some companies:

• Prior claims or knowledge that a claim could arise
• Job type or description
• How many years of experience
• More sub-contractors than employees

Click here to read more, and we can help you understand some of the complicated insurance situations.

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Don Westerfeld 11/11/2010 6:53:00 PM