What Is Strict Liability And How Could It Affect My Miami Personal Injury Case?
Strict Liability is the legal responsibility when damages or injuries are involved in a personal injury case. In other words, this law requires people to compensate you for any damages. The theoretical theory of law states that it allows for the victim to collect damages without having to show that the defendant did something to harm them on purpose. In a trial it allows the jury to not take into consideration that the Defendant could have done something in order to have avoided the accident. If you feel that you may qualify, contact a Miami personal injury Lawyer and continue reading.
When Does Strict Liability Apply?
Strict Liability falls under three different categories:
I. Wild Animals
Wild animals can be unpredictable and sometimes aggressive. This is why just owning a wild animal makes you automatically responsible for any damages that the animal may cause. Just having them, is considered a dangerous activity. This applies even when the owner takes steps to prevent injury, in which they may still be held severely responsible for the harm caused by the wild animal. Under this category, strict liability also applies when an injury is caused by the plaintiff’s fearful reaction to the wild animal. For example, if you are visiting a friend’s house and they own a pet snake that ends up getting out of its cage and you try and run out the door. But, you trip and fall in front of the snake and it bites you. This would apply to strict liability.
II. Product Liability
If a party makes and sells a defective product, they are solely responsible for any injuries that occur as a consequence of its usage. In a faulty product lawsuit, the victim just needs to demonstrate that the problem existed when the product left the manufacturer’s hands. The product must have been utilized in a usual way by the plaintiff. Then the maker is held legally responsible under personal injury legislation.
A) Defects in manufacturingis a process when a mistake in the production process results in harm. For example, factory errors that result in screws ending up food and drink products, assembly line errors that result in automobiles with defective engines, and rotten food that causes food poisoning are all instances of such faults. Even if there is no evidence of wrongdoing or carelessness, the maker or reseller might be held responsible.
B) Breach of Warranty is when the creator of a product states that a product will behave in a certain way and fails to do so. In this case, the manufacturer will be held responsible under strict liability.
III. Dangerous Activities
Is defined as the risk of significant injury to another’s person, land, or property, which cannot be avoided even with extreme caution; and it is not a matter of ordinary use. While the activity does not have to be uncommon, the majority of the time it is. For example, crop dusting, fumigation, other mass use of poisons, storing fuel, burning fields, storing explosives, and digging canals. This may qualify under strict liability because these activities are considered abnormally dangerous. It should also be highlighted that the damages do not have to be limited to those that would be expected and connected with the risky behavior. Damages don’t necessarily mean that it has resulted in physical harm. Instead, it also considers the emotional trauma that dangerous activities can cause.
It’s safe to say that above mentioned points are simply categorized overviews for a simplified description of the liability aspect but there is a lot more to the legal. Argument and defenses attributed to Strict liability. One should always speak to Miami personal injury lawyer to understand their rights and the possible causes of action after any injury.
What Are Some Exceptions To Strict Liability?
I. Natural Use Of Thing
This applies to everything that has been introduced to the land artificially. Even if the items were imported artificially, the question arises as to whether the Defendant should be accountable to others if the damage caused by the circumstances arose from a natural use that is not associated with unordinary actions of the Defendant.
II. Act Of God
Applies when the Defendant not responsible for any accident in which he or she can demonstrate that it was caused by natural causes. In other words, it is the operations of natural forces like a flood, hurricane, or earthquake. Then the Defendant may put forth the excuse that the injuries were indeed caused due to the act of God.
III. Act Of Stranger
The Defendant is not accountable for damages caused by a third party without the defendant’s knowledge or permission, as long as the Defendant is not negligent and has not breached his obligation to take reasonable precautions against the interference of strangers.
IV. Common Benefit
If a harmful object is brought to the land for the mutual benefit of both the Defendant and the Plaintiff, the Defendant can only be held accountable for the injury caused by the escape of the harmful object, if the Defendant was not negligent and not under the theory of strict liability.
V. Consent Of Plaintiff
This rule is applicable to the consent of being around the dangerous or harmful object and or substance of the Defendant but does not apply in cases where the harmful goods that escape were carried or maintained on the Defendant’s land with the Plaintiff’s agreement. It cannot be utilized as a Defense if the Plaintiffs were the ones who allowed the harmful substance to be where they were affected.
VI. Mistake Of Plaintiff
A person cannot claim harm as a result of his tampering with a dangerous item, his trespassing on another’s property or in some cases even negligence on his part.
VII. Statutory Authority
The Defendant must show that the specific conduct that caused the harm was expressly or impliedly authorized by legislation.
These are simply possible defenses and just because it seems like one would or may apply does not mean that it is a valid defense. In any case that strict liability is brought up there will be some sort of defense to fight the allegations but this does not mean the defense is going to be upheld by the Court. Always seek the advice and counsel of a Miami personal injury lawyer in any strict liability case that you may have fallen victim too. Our team or Miami personal injury lawyers at PerewGonza The Attorneys are ready to help you get through this tough time and more over are welled versed and understand strict liability as applicable in Florida law.
Why Contact a Miami Personal Injury Lawyer?
It cannot be stressed enough, if you feel that your injury case qualifies under strict liability then you may want to contact a Miami personal injury lawyer. Seeking the advice of a professional is never a bad idea. Even if you have any other questions about whether or not your case would fall under strict liability it is still recommended you contact a Miami Personal Injury Lawyer. As stated above, here at PereGonza The Attorneys, we are ready to help you in any way we can and we even offer free consultations for cases like these, Moreover, in most strict liability cases we do not even charge fees unless you win the case.
Article by: Alyssa Marie Otero
