Running a store means providing goods to the public for profit. Unfortunately, unexpected expenses can eat in to your profit margin and make running a business more of a liability than a source of income.
Premises liability claims, such as a claim that someone got severely hurt when they slipped and fell on your floor, could prove very expensive, especially if your insurance company doesn’t provide you with an attorney to defend yourself.
One of the ways that you can potentially protect your business from unfounded premises liability claims is to install security cameras and maintain a record of internal and external footage for long enough to protect your business from claims.
How long will you need to keep the footage?
Typically, you want to have cameras covering any area easily accessible by visitors both inside and outside of your business for protection from criminal activity and financial liability. If you discover a crime or someone reports an accident, you can obtain the footage from the day when an event took place.
People aren’t always quick about reporting incidents, even though they should if they intend to pursue an insurance claim later. Both New Hampshire and Massachusetts have a three-year statutes of limitations on personal injury claims in most cases.
While many companies only keep security footage for a few months, retaining your footage for three years will ensure that the statute of limitations for any events recorded by those cameras will have passed by the time you delete the footage.
You can defend against an injury claim
It is possible for you to go to court when someone alleges that they suffered a severe injury at your property and successfully defend against that claim by showing video proof they weren’t in your store or didn’t fall.
In fact, you may be able to defend yourself even if the injury definitely occurred, provided that you can show that there was no negligence on your part. Talking about what happened with a lawyer can give you a better idea of what options your business has when facing a serious financial claim.
