What is “strict liability”?
Strict liability in California is a legal concept which states that defendants can be held liable for any damage caused by a product, even if they had no prior knowledge or intention of causing any harm. This is in contrast to negligence, where a defendant must have been aware of potential risks and done something to cause harm. Strict liability is often applied when an individual or company has manufactured, sold, or distributed a product that can be considered inherently dangerous. In this case, they are considered to have a responsibility to make sure that their product is safe to use, as they are held liable for any foreseeable risks that it may cause. This means that if a product is known to be dangerous, or is likely to cause harm, the individual or company that made or sold it can be held responsible for resulting damage, whether or not they had prior knowledge of the risks. In some cases, California courts apply a legal concept known as “consumer expectation”, which states that a product should function in a way that meets the reasonable expectations of its user. This means that if a product does not perform as expected, the manufacturer may be held liable for any harm. Strict liability is important because it helps protect consumers from dangerous products and compensate them for any resulting harm.
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