If you run a physical business, then there is always a slim chance that one or more of your customers will suffer an accident or injury on your premises. If this happens, it is important that you stay as calm as possible and do whatever you can to help them, as well as being mindful of anything you can do to reduce the risk to your business too.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some key things you should do if s customer gets injured in your store or office:
Don’t let it happen
Of course, not letting an accident at your small business happen in the first place is the best thing you can do, so following strict health and safety guidelines and offering a high level of staff training is really vital.
Attend to them
Of course, if a customer is injured in your store, the first thing you are going to want to do is to check they are okay. Go to them and check them for injuries. If they are insured, then apply first aid or call an ambulance depending on the severity of the case. Keep them comfortable while they are waiting to be seen by a paramedic or collected by a family member, etc.
Collect information
Once you know they are ok, it is a good idea to collect as much information about the accident and how it happened as you possibly can. If they are in a fit state, interview them to find out what caused the accident, and also interview any staff members or other customers who were witnesses to the incident too. This will help you to not only to ensure you can make changes to your workplace so that the same thing does not happen again, but it will also help you should you need to defend yourself during litigation.
Contact your insurance company and a lawyer
Contacting your insurance company to let them know what has happened is vital if you want to be prepared for any injury claims that come your way. It is also important that you try to contact a premises liability lawyer now rather than later, just so you can see where you might stand should the injured party decide to sue.
Bolster your brand
If your customer has been injured, it is not unlikely that the news will filter out and you will get some bad press. That is why it is always a good idea to release a statement, even if on social media, about what happened, what you have done to make sure it does not happen again, and of course, how sorry you are. This will serve as good damage limitation and help you to show that your brand really does care about customers’ welfare despite the accident.
It’s always scary when something goes wrong and your small business could be placed in jeopardy, but if you keep a cool head and do all of the above, you can get through it.
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