As a business attorney, I've seen countless companies face terrible consequences from what started as simple oversights. While "negligence" might sound like dry legal jargon, understanding it can make the difference between your business thriving and facing a costly lawsuit that could have been prevented.

Let me be direct: negligence isn't just about making a mistake. It's about failing to take reasonable care in situations where you have a duty to do so. And as a business owner, you have more of these duties than you might realize.

The reality is, negligence in business often creeps in through the mundane day-to-day operations that you might take for granted. It's not usually about dramatic failures – it's about the small gaps in your processes thaat can create major vulnerabilities.

Here's what business owners need to understand:

Your duty of care extends beyond your direct customers. You may have obligations to anyone who could reasonably be affected by your business operations. This includes employees, visitors to your premises, and sometimes even third parties who use your products or services.

Documentation isn't just paperwork – it's protection. Every policy, procedure, training record, and maintenance log can become crucial evidence of your standard of care. In litigation, being able to prove you took reasonable precautions is often as important as actually taking them.

The most expensive words in business are "we've always done it this way." Just because something has worked in the past doesn't mean it meets the current standard of care for your industry. Standards evolve, and your practices need to evolve with them.

Prevention is infinitely cheaper than litigation. While it might seem burdensome to implement comprehensive safety protocols or documentation systems, I can tell you from experience: the cost of preventing negligence is a fraction of what you'll spend defending against a negligence claim.

But here's what really keeps me up at night: seeing businesses focus exclusively on obvious risks while missing the subtle ones. Yes, you need insurance and basic safety protocols. But have you considered:

• How your employee training is documented and verified?
• Whether your quality control processes are consistently applied and recorded?
• If your communication protocols ensure critical information doesn't fall through the cracks?
• Whether your contracts clearly define the scope of your obligations and limitations?

Here's my practical advice for business owners:

Document policies and their implementation. A documented policy you can't prove you follow is often worse than no documented policy at all.

The bottom line is this: negligence isn't just a legal concept – it's a business risk that needs active management. As your business grows, your duty of care grows with it. The good news is that managing this risk doesn't require legal expertise – it requires intentionality and good systems.

Think of it this way: every business decision you make either strengthens or weakens your position against potential negligence claims. The key is making those decisions with your eyes open to both the obvious and subtle risks.

Remember, in business litigation, what you can prove is often as important as what you actually did. Make sure you're not just doing the right things but documenting them in a way that will protect your business if you ever need to prove it.

Want to discuss specific risks in your business? Feel free to reach out to Adam Witkov. Sometimes, a simple conversation can highlight blind spots you didn't know you had.