By Carole Anderson

In today’s shamefully litigious society it seems lawyers run everything. Americans, including those that are responsible for businesses, live in TERROR of being sued. While our rights as Americans guarantee us the right to pursue happiness, true peace and financial security are impossible in today’s society with frivolous, absurd lawsuits flying everywhere.

People that work at home as independent contractors and people that run small businesses have even more potential for being sued than the average Joe.

In today’s America you can get sued for displaying a flag. You can literally be sued for anything. You can get sued for making a remark, and not even a very controversial remark. One lady was sued for literally giving another lady a dirty look as they passed each other entering/exiting a grocery store. A small business owner was sued for paying her rent, on time. Another business owner was sued by an employee who didn’t perform her work. Businesses have been sued for doing absurd things like displaying Christmas trees. While we all laugh at stories like the lady who sued McDonald’s for serving her hot coffee and the man who sued a whole city because the men’s bathroom was full at a sports event, deep down we are terrified that somehow, the same thing could happen to us!

As this is being written, the reputations of three Duke University students are being wrongfully dragged through the mud while their families are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees, even though there has not been a shred of evidence that the three students have done anything wrong. The ex-Chief of Staff in the White House is also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend himself in a matter for which someone else has admitted doing what he was originally accused of, and in addition to losing his job and becoming unemployed, like the Duke University students, his life will never be the same again!

So what if it does happen to you? What if you commit that unspeakable crime of displaying a Christmas tree in front of the wrong person or becoming involved in an accident that may not have even been your fault?

Get ready to empty your pockets.

Depending on where you live, you’ll spend between $150 and $490 PER HOUR for a lawyer to represent you through the very long, ugly, often dishonest process of litigation, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. In the end, even if you win, again, depending upon where you live, you’ll probably never see a dime of that money again and you will never look at life and the “justice” system the same way again. You can emerge on the other side of the lawsuit triumphant, the big winner, with no savings left, no money to put your kid through college, your mortgage refinanced up to the gills and open wounds and anxiety left where your patriotism used to be.

In addition to spending tens of thousands of dollars or more on attorney’s fees, you can be forced to pay huge, astronomical damages. The opposing law firm, instead of trying to collect a fair amount based on the situation, will instead opt to get as much as they can for their client, of which they are likely to be paid a handsome percentage. If they are working for their client on a contingency basis, the more they collect from you, the more they get paid. Some single lawsuit net the lawyers more than a million dollars!

The more you have, the more they’ll try to get. It doesn’t have anything to do with what you may have, or may not have, done wrong.

So much for the American dream.

The only way to be completely safe in this society from being sued and losing everything you ever worked for is to be poor. The first thing most lawyers do before advising their clients to sue someone is to do an asset check to see how much the potential victim is worth. If you’re poor, the lawyer will advise his or her client not to pursue it. Again, it has nothing to do with right or wrong.

But being poor isn’t your primary objective if you’re a hardworking contractor that works at home or someone trying to run a homebased business.

So whatever you do, be sure you’ve got plenty of insurance. Make sure your auto insurance carries large coverage, as does your homeowners policy for liability. You don’t want to commit the dastardly crime of being “under insured”, God forbid. Consider a blanket liability policy that covers anything your other policies don’t.

Never, never, never run a business as a sole proprietor. Instead, incorporate your business or form an LLC (Limited Liability Company).

Get everything in writing and have Agreements that protect you in all of your business relationships. If you work at home as an independent contractor, you too, consider forming a company. If you’re an independent contractor you’re liable personally unless you form a corporation or other legal entity, such as an LLC, and even then, you’ve got to make sure to jump through all the hoops to protect yourself.

The more you’re worth, the more you need to protect yourself. If you’re still brave enough to pursue the American dream and become a target with assets, take the time and spend the money on a high-priced asset protection attorney who can fully advise you on how to protect yourself. Unless you don’t have any assets, you can’t afford to be without an attorney advising you in today’s society.

It just wouldn’t be fair for you to lose everything you spent your whole life working for, for nothing, so protect yourself.

Please note: This information is not intended to give legal, business, accounting or tax advice. For proper legal advice, please contact a competent attorney.