ASB Magazine

Safety...

everyone always hears this word in regards to the workplace but what does it really mean to the adult storeowner? A cleaner store may translate into more sales, and hence more profit. However, more importantly this will lead to less litigation, less lost work hours and eventually more profit. The less opportunity your customers and employees have to slip, trip and fall, the fewer worries you will have at night.

Safety equates to money. From the standpoint of your customers, an organized and clean store is a more inviting store. A cluttered store may say to your customers and employees that you do not care about their comfort or well being. It’s relatively easy to keep your store safe.

Keep all items off the floor that could cause someone to slip, trip and fall. Like any other retail establishment, it is suggested that every store implement and maintain a scheduled inspection routine. Each hour an employee should perform a search of your store for any broken items that might have spilled on the fl oor and which might result in an accident. Obviously, if something is found, it should be cleaned up immediately. Further, a written record of each hour’s inspection should be kept on a daily basis regardless of the result. This will aid and assist any attorney that might be retained by your company or your premise liability insurance company to defend you against a potential lawsuit filed by an injured customer. I would not over look your bathrooms and private video booths as well. Inspect anywhere in your store that a customer may go, including outside your store.

Most commercial leases shift the burden to store owners in regards to who is responsible for injuries occurring anywhere on your "property" including the parking lots and entryways. If there is a dangerous condition in your parking lot, for example, a pothole in the asphalt, fix it immediately. Make sure that you record when it was discovered and when it was in fact fixed. This will help in defending any fraudulent claims fi led. In addition, do not overlook the lighting conditions in areas around your store. Ensure your customer’s safety by having suffi cient lighting. In real estate, the catch phrase is location, location, location. In defending a lawsuit, the phrase is document, document, document. It would be strongly recommended to install surveillance cameras so all areas of your store may be monitored. Most of those reading this article probably already use this technology, however, any type of video captured should be stored and retained for documentation purposes. Again, if someone claims to have fallen in your park ing lot, nothing can help defeat a fraudulent claim better than an archived video of the area. This can also be useful for defending against any fraudulent workers’ compensation injuries that employees may claim as well.

A safety mind set should also apply to your employees. Work related back injuries are one of our countries biggest reasons for lost work time and workers’ compensation benefi ts. So far we have discussed how to make your store safer for your customers, do not forget safety precautions for your employees. Lost time and injured employees will hurt your bottom line as well. Most states require mandatory workers’ compensation insurance. Like any other insurance, workers’ compensation insurance rates are determined by the number and frequency of accidents. The more accidents or the severity of the accident, the more you will pay in premiums. Vigorous defense of your workers’ compen sation claims is a necessity in order to keep those premiums low. Often in my practice, I have seen disgruntled employees fi le false workers’ compensation claims in order to secure unwarranted benefi ts. Without proper proof of a fraudulent claim, it is diffi cult to defeat an injury claim fi led by an employee. Many times an em ployee will claim an unwitnessed "Monday morning" injury. If your employee has a prior back injury, it would be almost impossible to prove that they didn’t re-injure themselves while working for you. Again, surveillance video can assist in defeating these types of claims. As an aside, be careful in allowing your employees to use back braces while lifting and moving items. Studies have questioned their effectiveness in preventing injuries and one study that I am aware of even indicated that braces could increase injuries. A back brace may give your employee an unrealistic idea of what weight they can safely lift. A lifting limitation should also be imple mented as another way to limit spinal injuries.

Also keep in mind where your products are placed in your displays and on your shelves. Make sure that items are not too low or too high. These situations may result in an injury for either an employee or a customer. In addition, requiring employees to climb ladders will usually result in a fall sooner or later. A fall from a ladder will often cause serious injuries. Stocking shelves too low to the fl oor requires repetitive bending and stooping of your employee. Repetitive bending and stooping are often causes of back injuries. It is rather easy to herniate a spinal disc and I have litigated claims that involved someone rupturing a disc by sim-ply turning their torso and sneezing. As for customers, asking a shorter stature customer to reach higher for an item could cause them to lose their balance and fall. Another potential unsafe condi tion ripe for litigation is storing boxes above customer’s heads. That invites customers to try and retrieve items from those boxes as well as creating a hazard if one of the boxes should fall. Finally, keeping a well-lit and uncluttered store will only improve your bottom line in more ways then one. Litigation costs associat-ed with even valid or fraudulent claims can skyrocket quickly and dissipate your profi ts. While many store owners are constantly thinking about the litigation costs associated with zoning regula-tions and just keeping their doors open to the public, you should not forget the hidden problems once the customer or employees enter your store.

I would recommend that you seek legal counsel in your own locality for more specifi c laws in regards to the defense of premise liability and workers compensation claims. Each state’s laws vary and may require different standards of care. While most of the advice given in this article is nothing more than good common sense, it is amazing that safety is often ignored by my clients.