Litigation can be stressful and costly for your Florida company, but sometimes, you may have little choice but to pursue a legal solution to a business problem. You may also find yourself in a situation where you are facing a lawsuit filed by another party.
Common employee-related lawsuits
The types of business litigation that you most need to worry about will vary based on the type of business that you own. For example, if you do not have any employees, you will not need to worry about employment lawsuits. However, for businesses that do, there are several common types of employment-related litigation.
An employee may sue because they believe they have been the target of discrimination based on a protected characteristic, which may include disability, race, sex or religion among others. Employees may also sue if they have been harassed at work. This includes but is not limited to sexual harassment.
In some cases, insurance can help protect you from a lawsuit. This is the case with commercial auto insurance, which protects you if your employee has an accident while driving for the company, and workers’ compensation, which protects you if employees are injured at work. However, there are times when you might face a lawsuit despite having this insurance.
Other lawsuits
Other types of lawsuits, such as breach of contract, might involve employees, customers or other businesses. Slip-and-fall accidents and injuries related to premises liability are also common reasons for business lawsuits. You are obligated to keep your premises safe for visitors, and if you are negligent, you could be required to pay compensation. In addition, disputes over intellectual property rights can lead to a lawsuit.
If you have a business, you may want to work with an attorney to help you set up the business entity and complete other types of paperwork, such as creating contracts. In addition to ensuring that you have prepared these documents correctly, getting legal assistance may help you establish a relationship with a law firm if you have to deal with business litigation later.
