When you are the owner of your own business, everyone looks to you for direction. When your business is a start-up this is even truer as you haven’t yet had a chance to really establish the business and allow people to get comfortable in their roles.
So what happens if you become seriously injured through no fault of your own and it affects your ability to manage your business? Does the business have to fail simply because you can’t be there to lead the way or are there steps you can take?
Here we will take a look at what you can do in order to protect your business and look after yourself after a serious injury:
Defining a Serious Personal Injury.
While there are all kinds of things that account for an injury, a serious personal injury is much more exact. Serious personal injury includes such things as burns, brain injury, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, etc. With a personal injury there is pain and suffering involved, medical costs, and the inability to work and go about one’s daily regular life either temporarily or permanently.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney.
As soon as you have been stabilized medically, it’s important you think ahead and contact a personal injury attorney. If you are unable to do so due to your injuries, it’s important it is done on your behalf. The sooner the attorney is contacted after the accident the better it will be for you. An experienced personal injury attorney will understand what immediate steps must be taken and will be able to file a personal injury claim.
At the same time, they will be able to go over such things as what the expected outcome will be regarding the settlement. Even if you have insurance that should cover your medical expenses, it’s still wise to hire an attorney who can deal with the provider directly. This will ensure you get everything you are covered for.
Alert Management and Employees.
If you were an employee at a company it would be up to you to inform your employer of your injuries and let them know how long you planned to be off the job. When you own your own business it’s still important to make sure you alert your management staff. If your company is still quite small, there’s a good chance you won’t even have a management staff, but you will still need to alert your employees.
It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan of action should you become unable to work and operate the business, but unfortunately for most start-ups this isn’t thought of until it becomes necessary.
It’s Time to Delegate and Outsource.
Now is the time to learn how to delegate and possibly outsource. If your absence is temporary, then delegating your tasks to others may be sufficient. Just be sure to be in touch on a regular basis. If the injury is more long-term then you will likely need to re-think operations and management and look for a more permanent solution.
When you own your own business, a serious personal injury can spell the end for your business unless you take the proper and necessary steps right away.
