How To Protect Yourself From Lawsuits

The last thing anyone wants is to be involved in a lawsuit. Most people think that you can avoid a lawsuit entirely if you avoid committing crimes. However, it's not always as simple as that, especially if you run a business. Business owners can sometimes be sued over personal injury cases and other cases, even if the business owner is personally not at fault. Luckily, there are some tips that can help you to avoid lawsuits, whether you own a business or not.

Use Contracts as Legal Documentation

Even if you do not run a business, there are many cases in which having a contract drawn up ahead of time can help to protect you from lawsuits. Some of the most common situations in which this can help include leasing rental housing, contracting a company to work on your home, and any situation that involves one person doing contracted work for another. How do you draw up a contract? Well, depending on your state, it could be easier than you think.

To create a legally binding contract, no matter what it is for, you only need two things (in all states). You need both parties to agree on whatever the contract is about and something needs to be exchanged in turn for something else (money, goods, or services). To hold up in a court of law, it's best to have this agreement typed out and signed and dated by both parties. The document does not need to be filled with legal jargon either. So long as both parties agree, the contract is technically legally binding.

Keep Detailed and Accurate Records

Keeping records, especially records that have anything to do with your or your business's finances, is key to proving that you are innocent in a lawsuit. When in doubt of whether a document is important enough to save or not, it's best to save it just in case. To be as safe as possible, save the document as both a digitized file and a hard copy file. Keep both of these files in a safe place so that you can retrieve them later, if need be. You never know what documents you will need and when they will come in handy.

Know Your State's Statute of Limitations

No matter where you live in the United States, a statute of limitations can be defined as the maximum amount of time after a crime is committed that the offending party can be accused and imprisoned. For example, if the statute of limitations of a crime is three years, and someone is brought to court four years later, the case will not stand, as it is past the statute of limitations. However, it should be noted that statutes of limitations vary based upon the crime that is committed and the state it is committed in. For this reason, it is important that you review the statute of limitations for your home state.

Be Honest and Ethical

Last but not least, one of the best ways to avoid a lawsuit, whether you run a business or not, is to simply live your life in an ethical and honest way. If you are an individual, this means avoiding committing crimes. Be honest whenever you fill out paperwork, especially paperwork involving employers and taxes. If you are not sure if you are filling out paperwork the right way, make sure to ask questions. After all, it's better to ask what might seem like a silly question than to do something incorrectly and get in legal trouble for it later

If you do run a business, then follow all of the above advice. In addition, make sure to give the best possible service to your customers. Go out of your way to be clear on policies and sales. These little things can make a big difference in the end.

Avoiding a lawsuit is simple when you know the right things to do. So, follow all of the advice above. If you can do all of these things, then you can work to avoid a lawsuit. If you do get into a lawsuit, doing these things can help you to win your case.