In-House Legal Cost Containment of Liability Expensies in the Retail Industry

Author

Jeanne M. Costello, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1992

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

insurance, claims, management, security, plaintiff, litigation

Abstract

Risk management has become a major area of concern. The cost of doing business has gone up and companies are looking for new ways to control their losses. Many companies are- hiring risk managers or risk management firms to initiate and control their loss management programs.

Risk management takes many issues into account. Risk managers are concerned about safety issues, security issues, insurance risks such as workmen's compensation, general liability losses, property losses and business interruption, to name a few.

Retailers are open to a variety of general liability risks. Due to the amount of customer traffic, customer accidents will occur even in the most safety conscious establishments. At the same time, there also are more opportunities for security personnel to be involved in false arrests due to the increased number of customers in the store.

If the store personnel can head off potential claims by resolving the situations themselves, they may be able to prevent future lawsuits. To do this, employees must be properly trained on how to manage a variety of situations and how to deal with customers.

Unfortunately, not all situations can be resolved at the store level. When this is not possible, the retailer must have an insurance plan established to process the incoming claims. Regardless of whether they are handled in-house by the company's own people or by the insurance company, the risk manager has the ultimate responsibility of maintaining control of the file and directing the legal work.

This thesis will focus on the general liability risk of retailers and, most importantly, their legal expenses as this is the singular most costly area affecting retailers today.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Costello, Jeanne M., "In-House Legal Cost Containment of Liability Expensies in the Retail Industry" (1992). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 353.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/353