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Contact your business insurance company and/or an appropriate litigation attorney after receiving a summons and complaint.
If you’re being sued by a vendor or a client over a contract dispute, you should speak with a business or commercial litigation attorney in a practice that focuses on commercial law. If you’re being sued for an alleged injury, you should contact a business litigation defense attorney that handles personal injury claims.
In many cases your insurance company will set you up with a legal defense team. If your insurance company doesn’t cover the claim against your business, you’ll need to assemble your own defense. It’s generally unwise to either ignore a complaint or attempt to represent your business on your own.
Types of Business Liability Defense Cases in Atlanta
There are a nearly limitless number of incidents or scenarios that might lead to personal injury litigation against a business. Someone might claim to have tripped over a raised threshold when entering your store. One of your employees may have allegedly caused a serious accident while they were driving a company fleet vehicle. A past client might accuse your company of doing unsafe work on their property that led to someone else’s injury.
Different types of businesses have more liability exposure than others, and the types of cases they might face depend on the types of products they sell or the services they provide.
Contractors in the construction industry might be named as defendants in an injury case against one of their past clients. Mass transit companies might be sued for slips and falls or assaults that happened at their stations or stops. Retail businesses might be sued for a slip and fall in their store or by a customer who was injured by a product they bought from the business.
In most of these cases, you’ll be defended by your insurance company. Since technically it’s your business liability insurance company who will likely bear the brunt of any verdicts against your business, the insurance company generally has a significant incentive to defeat claims against you.
When Insurance Might Not Cover the Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Most business liability policies won’t cover acts of intentional wrongdoing on behalf of a business or an employee. There are many ways in which intentional wrongdoing might be at issue in a personal injury case.
A business might have intentionally cut corners to reduce costs or participated in some other kind of corporate malfeasance to hide losses from investors.
Intentional wrongdoing in a business personal injury case often turns out to be the wrongdoing of the at-fault employee who committed a crime while on the job.
The doctrine of “respondeat superior” (or vicarious liability), which essentially means businesses are responsible for the actions of their employees, doesn’t apply to workers who aren’t acting within the scope of their job duties.
A delivery driver should only be delivering food, packages or whatever it is they’re required to deliver for their employer. It’s not within their job description to make unrelated personal stops or commit criminal activities.
A business wouldn’t be liable for the illegal actions of their employees if those actions weren’t in the worker’s job description.
That doesn’t mean a business escapes liability for every injury their employees cause. If an employee runs a red light while on a delivery and causes a serious accident, their employer could still be sued. The employee may technically have done something illegal due to their own negligence, but that action was done while performing their job duties.
Liability Isn’t Always Clear Cut
There are many situations where there are legitimate questions regarding whether an employee’s actions were within the purview of their job duties. What if an employee who is distracted by a sales call gets in an accident while driving a company car to a business appointment?
They would have technically been performing their job duties when the accident occurred, even though they knew driving distracted was against the law. The employee could also potentially argue they were required to be on the call and get to their appointment on time.
In many cases, it’s necessary for your business defense team to investigate the situation to develop the best possible case.
Should You Call a Business Liability Lawyer in Atlanta?
If you’ve been threatened with a lawsuit or your business has received a summons and complaint, it’s important to work closely with your insurance company’s defense counsel. If you feel like you need an independent assessment from local Atlanta business defense attorneys, Edwards & Hawkins would be happy to consult with you. Call us at (404) 526-8866 to schedule a consultation.
