What is Strict Liability?
In the United States, when a person is injured as a result of another person’s negligence, the injured person has the right to recover damages from the person responsible for causing the injury; but the injured person (plaintiff) generally must prove that the person responsible for their injury (defendant) was negligent or intended to cause their injury. Strict liability is different than liability due to negligence; it holds people or legal entities (e.g., corporations) responsible for any harm caused by their products or actions, regardless of whether they are at fault or not.
Strict liability typically applies to hazardous activities (like construction), animal owners, and product manufacturers. For example, a product manufacturer is strictly liable for any injury caused by a defective product regardless of the care taken to prevent injury or the absence of intentional wrongdoing or negligence. Anyone involved in the manufacturing of a product may be held liable for damages caused by the defective product if the injury or harm occurred while a consumer was using the product in a reasonably foreseeable way—even if the product was not being used for its intended purpose (see Products Liability for more information).
Another example of how strict liability comes into play is dog bites. No matter how many precautions a dog owner takes to train his or her dog or keep his or her dog away from other people, the owner is strictly liable if the animal bites another human being.
The purpose of strict liability is to discourage reckless behavior, careless product development and manufacturing, and negligent animal control. By holding people strictly liable for actions that are inherently dangerous, damage caused by animals, and products developed for consumers, people and companies are more likely to take extreme care to prevent damages or injury.
If you have been injured as a result of an accident that was not your fault or a defective product, an experienced personal injury lawyer should be able to help you understand your rights and fight for a recovery of damages from the person responsible.
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[...] Workers’ Compensation laws are designed to protect employees who are injured on the job. Under workers’ compensation laws, an employer is responsible for any injuries sustained by their “on-the-clock” employees, regardless of whether or not the employer is responsible for causing those injuries (see What is Strict Liability?). [...]