If you want to hold someone responsible for damages in a personal injury claim, you must prove their liability. Typically, proving liability means showing that they were at fault for the accident. However, strict liability is a special type of liability used in some limited circumstances.
Under the strict liability rule, someone can be held responsible for your injuries even if they were not careless in their behavior. Keep reading below to learn more about strict liability, including what it is and when it applies.
What Is Strict Liability?
Strict liability is a special type of liability that exists in tort law. Under this doctrine, a defendant may be held liable for their actions even in the absence of fault. Even if they did not engage in misconduct, they can still be held liable for the consequences of their actions simply because they engaged in a certain type of behavior. Strict liability only applies in very limited cases.
Strict Liability vs Negligence
Most personal injury claims are based on negligence. This means that someone’s carelessness led to another person’s injuries.
Proving negligence requires showing:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
To prove negligence, you must first show that the defendant owed the victim a duty of care. This means they had a legal duty to act reasonably to avoid injuring the victim. Next, you must show that they breached their duty through action or inaction. This means they acted in a manner inconsistent with how a reasonable person would have acted under similar circumstances.
Strict liability is much different. There is no need to show that a duty of care was owed or that the duty was breached. In other words, you do not need to show that the defendant acted unreasonably. Instead, you only need to show that they engaged in a particular type of conduct and you were injured as a result.
Common Examples of Claims Involving Strict Liability
Strict liability applies when a person may be held accountable for the consequences of their actions, even if they were not careless. There are a few common scenarios when strict liability applies.
Ultrahazardous Activities
Some activities are so dangerous that the risks cannot be significantly avoided. When someone engages in these types of activities, they can be held strictly liable for any damages they cause.
Common examples include:
- Blasting (for construction)
- Tree cutting or pruning
- Transporting hazardous materials
- Storing explosives
- Crop dusting
Imagine a construction company uses explosives to clear land for a new development. Even if the company follows every safety regulation and exercises reasonable care, it may still be held strictly liable if the blasting damages nearby homes or injures others.
Wild Animals
Someone who houses wild animals can be held strictly liable for damages if those animals escape and cause destruction or injuries. Housing wild animals is inherently dangerous. Therefore, a keeper assumes the risk of liability should the animals escape and cause an injury.
Although not a wild animal, many states follow a strict liability rule for dog bites. This means that a dog’s owner can be held liable for bite injuries even if the dog has no history of biting.
Georgia follows a modified “one bite” rule instead of a strict liability rule for dog bites. However, the Georgia dog bite laws assume negligence in some cases, such as when a dog’s owner violates a leash law and allows their dog to run free.
Defective Products
Manufacturers can face strict liability for defective products. By introducing a defective product into the stream of commerce, they can be held responsible for any injuries caused by it.
To win a product liability claim, you need to be able to show that the product had any of the following:
- Design defect
- Manufacturing defect
- Marketing defect
In addition to manufacturers, distributors and even retailers can also be held responsible for defective products.
What Types of Damages Are Available in Strict Liability Claims?
The damages available in a strict liability claim are the same as those available in negligence claims. This means that you can recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Common examples include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost benefits
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Diminished quality of life
- Permanent disability
Having a lawyer on your side can help ensure you are getting all the compensation you are owed.
Get Help From a Columbus Personal Injury Lawyer at Mark Casto Personal Injury Law Firm
If you have been hurt in an accident, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries. Understanding the differences between negligence and strict liability can be crucial to proving and winning your case.
The team at Mark Casto Personal Injury Law Firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Columbus personal injury attorney. We know what it takes to win complex injury claims, and we are ready to get started helping you today.
