Every business should have a procedure in place for responding to customer injuries on their premises. If the business is immediately notified of the injury, an employee should write an incident report either while you are there or after you leave. Anything an injured party says or does may end up on the report. Businesses generally will not release a copy of the incident report, but inexperienced employees may mistakenly do so if asked. At times, having a copy of the report can leverage a settlement after months rather than years.

There are two stages to the question of fault. First is whether the risk was obvious, or should have been obvious, to the patron before the injury. When a hazard is open and obvious, the patron will often bear partial responsibility. Second is whether the business could reasonably have been expected to eliminate the risk before the injury. This analysis hinges on whether the risk was temporary or permanent in nature. If temporary, the business will have the onus of proving that it took reasonable measures to maintain its premises in a safe manner for its patrons.

Lastly, many injuries on commercial properties result from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) violations. OSHA governs many engineering details that manifest in building codes and construction requirements. Consulting a lawyer at an early stage is critical to assessing regulatory violations, controlling the narrative, and employing strategies that mitigate financial risk.