Personal injury cases covered by strict liability theories of legal responsibility include animal attacks and bites, product liability, and extremely hazardous activities.
What Exactly are Strict Liability Claims?
Strict liability in a personal injury lawsuit or strict liability claims means you do not have to prove that the defendant had wrongful intent or was at fault. They can be held strictly liable in a personal injury case for the harm that their actions or defective product (defective products) caused.
All a plaintiff must show in a strict liability claim or strict liability case is that 1) the plaintiff suffered damages and 2) his or her injuries were caused by the defendant or its defective product. If they can successfully illustrate this, then under strict liability law, they should prevail in strict liability cases.
Talk to an experienced personal injury attorney about strict liability cases and if strict liability applies for your incident.
They can offer free consultation and legal advice on personal injury claims and a strict liability tort. Then, they can set up an attorney client relationship to pursue a strict liability case to obtain financial compensation for your harms.
What Kinds of Personal Injury Lawsuits Can a Defendant Be Held Strictly Liable?
Most personal injury cases and civil cases as well as criminal law require the plaintiff to show intent, fault, proximate cause, negligence reasonable care, mental state, or something else. There are some broad categories though when a defendant can be held liable and strictly liable without this showing.
In these cases, they can be held accountable for the plaintiff’s injury or plaintiff’s injuries based solely on strict liability:
- Wild Animals: An injured person can sue a wild animal or domesticated owner after an attack for the injuries caused. It is common for a plaintiff to sue a dog owner defendant after dog bites. Yet, owners of wild animals can be found strictly liable in court as well for the victim’s injuries in a personal injury claim based on strict liability.
- Products Liability: A defendant can be found strictly liable in products liability claims for the risks created and harms sustained due to their manufacturing defects. Products liability cases can be brought against makers, sellers, or distributors of said products.
- Abnormally Dangerous Activities: Plaintiffs harmed by abnormally dangerous activities can file suit under strict liability. Abnormally dangerous activities can include using jackhammers, fire, or explosives. If the risk created by this abnormally created activity gets outside of the defendant’s control and harms the plaintiff, they could bring a strict liability action.
Contact us to get a free consultation about strict liability from a personal injury lawyer today. Our law firm, the Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, has brought many cases on strict liability, negligence, and product liability claims.
We can help you after dog bites, attacks from wild animals, incidents involving an abnormally dangerous activity, or similar events.
Common Defenses to Strict Liability Claims
There are many defenses that a defendant can raise when a plaintiff tries to bring an action on strict liability. These can defeat a case even if the victim has all the elements he or she needs to ordinarily hold the defendant to liability strict.
The first is assumption of risk. Here, the at fault party is arguing that the plaintiff knew of the risk and accepted it.
Therefore, they should not be allowed to sue. This defense is used often with an abnormally dangerous activity or when an animal is involved.
Second, the wrongdoer could suggest the statute of limitations bars the suit. These laws prohibit cases after the victim discovered their injuries or after the underlying events occurred.
States like Illinois give people two years to bring cases. If yours is brought after that, the defendants could use these laws to end your suit.
Third, and finally, the federal government can preempt your right to file a case if it passes legislation or significant caselaw on a topic. This is rare but it can happen so it is important to keep it in mind.
Speak with a personal injury lawyer to prepare and prevent any defenses the negligent or responsible party may raise in your case.
What Financial Compensation Can You Get in Strict Liability Cases?
While the type of strict liability action you bring in Illinois against the defendant (or because of the defendant’s product) may differ, the issue of damages normally boils down to the same focus. Namely, how did the events injure or damage you?
Normally, we can this up into large categories of damages like out-of-pocket expenses. This can include items like medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and so on.
You can also recover damages for bodily pain and suffering as well as intangible harms. For this, think of effects like disability, changed life circumstances, scarring, etc.
Finally, you could bring actions and pursue compensation for wrongful death damages. These reimburse people for the financial, emotional, and related losses that come with the death of a loved one.
To understand completely what and how you can obtain compensation following an accident, call our team for free case evaluation. We’re open 24/7 and welcome your call.
We can review your case and craft a legal plan that maximizes your recovery under Illinois law.
Talk to a Member of Our Firm Today About Your Strict Liability Case and Possible Compensation
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers files personal injury lawsuits on behalf of injured victims and their families. We can help ensure the defendants are held strictly liable for the actions of their animals, defective products, or dangerous activities.
Talk to us today in a no-obligation and free case evaluation to see what you may obtain in a case. Our attorneys work on contingency fee basis so there is only a legal fee charged if we obtain financial recovery for you. Call us today to get the process started: 888-424-5757.
