Liability FAQ’s   

No matter what discipline or field a company or organization is in, there are a number of areas that can represent potential liability exposures.   

Key areas where these exposures may exist are employer/employee relationships,   provider/client relationships, and/or  physical plant (environmental) issues. 

Following are a few helpful questions and answers regarding liability considerations.  

Q:         Won’t my attorney tell me what I need to do when starting a new business so I’ll be completely protected?  

A:         It’s imperative that your attorney possess both business law and industry specific expertise in working with entities in your field of business; this is especially true if you’re a healthcare provider.  While there are the more obvious protections such as incorporation or formation of a limited liability corporation (LLC) or similar entity, there are also many less evident yet equally important considerations to be weighed. 

 As is true of the practice of medicine, the practice of law is multi-disciplined, and not every attorney may possess the level of knowledge needed to adequately address the myriad legal issues inherent in starting and effectively running a business.     There are, however, some excellent internet resources for locating qualified legal counsel with expertise specific to your area of business.     

Among them:                www.lawyers.com, www.findlaw.com, www.clsnet.org. 

A responsible attorney will be candid in informing you when the legal needs of your organization fall outside his/her area of expertise.   

Q:        What types of things should we look for when trying to identify possible liability exposures within an existing business?  

 A:         Unfortunately, organizational deficits or problem areas that could potentially result in litigation aren’t always easily identifiable.     When conducting organizational assessments for clients, we closely scrutinize issues such as employee turnover and training; written policies and consistency of application and enforcement; environmental considerations and similar factors.    Again, we emphasize the importance of engaging qualified counsel in this process, especially when regulatory or compliance issues are involved.     

We encourage you to contact our office to learn about ways in which our internal assessments and audits can help to identify some of the dynamics within your organization that may be causing, or resulting in, heightened liability exposures.