Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
The scales of Lady Justice are supposed to symbolize fairness in the courts. However, for many businesses the scales of justice are not balanced.
Lawsuit abuse continues to be a nightmare. This is true nationwide and especially in the nation’s most-populous state.
“California’s atrocious legal environment coupled with the Legislature’s relentless pursuit of liability expanding principles has earned the Golden State the dubious honor of being named the ‘Top Everlasting Judicial Hellhole‘ in the nation, by the American Tort Reform Foundation,” wrote Victor Gomez Dec. 12, 2021 as executive director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA).
Published reports have long illustrated the polarizing effects of laws affecting business and CALA’s efforts to fight it.
As part of its marketing, CALA has a Facebook page.
Yes, as Biz Coach, I’m empathetic for business having to cope with the litigious environment in California and across the nation.
Sexual abuse case
On first glance, an article would seem to support CALA’s cause. The CBS headline reads: “Jury Awards Woman $65M In Punitive Damages.”
However, the article – one of many on the case – explains how and why jurors reacted to a healthcare company that employed a male nursing assistant who sexually abused a patient. Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center and its former owner Tenet Healthcare Corp. were ordered to pay the victim $2.36 million in compensatory damages.
10 Tips for Hiring the Right Attorney for Your Business
The article also relates how the jurors in their deliberations were so deeply moved they arrived at the $65-million figure in punitive damages.
Little wonder. The article indicated the jurors weren’t convinced the company was doing its best as a healthcare organization – were they thinking this was an example of the term, oxymoron?
To exacerbate the situation, the employee-predator, a fugitive, was cited on Fox television’s “America’s Most Wanted” two years in a row.
Two key questions about hospital case
For starters: What about the hospital’s recruitment policies, background checks, and management procedures?
And why was a male nursing assistant even allowed intimate access to a female patient? Other professions, like police agencies and physicians, have noteworthy safeguards in gender protections.
Three Solutions
The lesson? To prevent being hit by a lawsuit, do your due diligence in risk management:
- Conduct a SWOT analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
- Then, take the necessary proactive steps for good stewardship.
- Document everything for a paper trail.
You’ll sleep better. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do for you and your employees. Plus, it will help the righteous CALA cause of preventing lawsuit abuse.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are other employer tips:
Avoid Nightmarish Trend: Discrimination Suits, an EEOC Dragnet— News headlines from Seattle to New York are cause for some serious head-slapping when it comes to management of employees — EEOC discrimination lawsuits are seemingly everywhere. Here’s how to avoid HR nightmares with the EEOC.
Why Companies Fall into the Management Lawsuit Trap — News headlines continue to show there are a myriad of ways managers set themselves up for lawsuits. Small and many big companies are ripe for EEOC complaints.
10 Tips on Responding to EEOC Complaints — If your company is hit with an EEOC complaint, here’s what to do.
EEOC: Employers Are Liable if Asians Bullied over COVID-19 — The coronavirus crisis has led to reports of harassment of Asian-Americans prompting a warning to employers by the EEOC. Here are five workplace strategies to prevent harassment of Asian-American employees and the threat of EEOC action.
Avoid EEOC Legal Hassles over Unpaid Leave Requirements — You might want to review your current human resource policies. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has continued to push employers on unpaid leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“The first step in the risk management process is to acknowledge the reality of risk. Denial is a common tactic that substitutes deliberate ignorance for thoughtful planning.”
-Charles Tremper
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