When a personal injury case comes to light, the plaintiff has to show the burden of proof. They will need to show how the defendant was accountable for their injuries. Although the burden of proof is required for the majority of the cases, there are times where certain personal injury cases will not require the plaintiff to prove the case because the at-fault person will already be known. This is referred to as “strict liability”.
Strict liability is most often seen with cases involving defective equipment, known as “product liability”. In these cases, the designer or manufacturer committed an error with how the product was created or designed which was what directly caused the victim their injuries. It does not matter whether these individuals acted negligently or not, they fall under the strict liability because they had a duty to ensure that every product that is sold and used by people should have been deemed safe and free of harm.
Along with claims of a defective product, strict liability is often seen with owners and their pets. In Florida, the owner of a dog that bites and injures a person will be held strictly liable regardless of the owner knowing or not that their pet had aggressive tendencies. The purpose of strict liability is so that the responsible party pays for the victim’s injury because they could have prevented the victim in getting hurt in the first place. With the product liability, the manufacturer could have ensured that the product was safe before distributing it and the pet owner could have leashed their dog.
A strict liability compensation is not always guaranteed in regards to a negligent case. If the person did not use the product as it was intended and did not read the warning label, they could not hold the manufacturer liable if they suffered an injury. The only way the victim would receive compensation under a strict liability claim would be if they show how the product was defective, and the defective product was what caused the victim their injuries. The same applies to the dog-owner case. If the victim put themselves in a dangerous situation like entering the yard where the dog was located or teasing the dog that was on the leash, they cannot hold the owner liable if the dog ends up biting them because they took part of their own injuring.
Do You Believe That Your Case Falls Under Strict Liability?
A personal injury lawyer knows what cases fall under the strict liability theory and can aid their clients in building their claim. Not every personal injury case falls under strict liability, but a few of them do. Strict liability cases are easy to settle but a victim has better chances at recovering more by hiring an experienced personal injury attorney who will fight for their compensation.
A personal injury lawyer with over 10 years of experience, Ryan Malnar serves Colorado Springs with honesty & integrity.
