“Premises Liability: Securing Evidence to Diminish Exposure”

Nelofar Agharahimi authored an article for PropertyCasualty360, published on Aug. 24, 2021, discussing the importance of and strategies for securing evidence in premises liability claims to mitigate risk in these potentially costly matters.

“To properly investigate each element of a negligence claim in a premises liability suit, gathering evidence is extremely important,” Agharahimi said. “The evidence available depends on the premises, the type of alleged hazard and the nature of the claim being made.”

Different types of claims will yield different opportunities for evidence. For example, commercial establishments tend to offer documentation not available in a residential injury, such as cleaning inspection logs, safety manuals, policy and procedure manuals for safety, surveillance, employee timesheets and more. Similarly, large national retail chains likely have more formalized processes and updated security equipment than a local small business.

To fully take advantage of the available evidence, insured businesses should generate processes, templates and documents before an incident occurs to help quickly collect all relevant information when an incident occurs. This includes steps to preserve evidence for the long haul, such as securing video evidence before it is automatically erased and collecting witness statements immediately to capitalize on the immediate memory.

For the full article, please click here.