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A lot of lawsuits are brought against businesses. This isn’t because companies are bad; it’s because they often face more risk than individuals do. For instance:

• Businesses are legally responsible for everything their employees do, while private people are only responsible for what they do.
• If a business owns cars, they may be on the road around the clock in more than one city. A private person probably only spends an hour or two driving each day.
• Every day, thousands of people may visit a business, but only a few people may come to a private home each month.
• Businesses usually make things that thousands or even millions of people use.

Most of the time, businesses are involved in premises liability cases. This is when someone gets hurt on a business-owned property — like slipping on a freshly mopped floor. If the company or an employee did something careless that caused the injury, like not putting up a “wet floor” sign, the business might have to pay for the costs of the damage.

Government entities can generally be sued the same way businesses can, and for many of the same reasons. (For example, if you get hurt in a local park, you might have a case against the city for premises liability.) But there are some special rules about suing the government, and the deadlines are usually tighter.