Strict Liability Cases in Small Claims Court (California)
Strict liability includes actions where the Defendant is held liable for the harm caused, regardless of intent. If someone's product, animal, or ultrahazardous activity causes harm, they may be liable under strict liability.
Common types of strict liability cases:
Product Liability: Defective product manufacturing, distribution, or sale causing harm to the user.
Animal Liability: Ownership or control of an animal resulting in harm to a person or their property.
Ultrahazardous Activities: Involves engaging in high-risk activities such as handling explosives or storing hazardous chemicals that result in harm to others.
🛈 Note that different states may have different laws about causes of actions and elements. This article is based on California law, please review your state law.
Product Liability
If the Defendant caused harm with a product, you may hold them strictly liable through a product liability case. To win in court, you must prove the legal elements:
Legal Elements of Design Defect Claim:
- Control: The Defendant was involved in the product's manufacture, distribution, or sale.
- Defect: The product did not perform as expected when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable way.
- Harm: You were harmed, and the product's failure to perform safely contributed significantly to your harm.
See how to prove each element.
Example
You bought a lamp for your living room with a glass lampshade. After turning it on for the first time, the glass shattered after about 20 minutes. Shards fell on a nearby valuable vase, destroying it. The glass also damaged your hand when collecting the shards. Seeking damages for the vase and medical bills.
Legal Elements of Manufacturing Defect Claim:
- Control: The Defendant manufactured, distributed, or sold the product.
- Defect: When the product left the Defendant’s possession, it contained a manufacturing defect: the product differed from the manufacturer’s design or specifications or other typical units of the same product line.
- Foreseeable Use: You used the product in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner.
- Harm: You were harmed, and the product’s defect was a substantial factor in causing you harm.
See how to prove each element.
Example
You bought a car in August with a four-wheel drive system to help you drive well in snowy conditions. In November, your car skidded on the ice, hitting a tree. This incident caused a concussion when you hit your head on the steering wheel. Upon inspection by the mechanic, a defect in the four-wheel drive system was discovered. Now, you are pursuing compensation for medical expenses related to the concussion treatment and car repair bills.
Animal Liability
If the Defendant's dog (or other animal) caused harm, you may hold them strictly liable through an animal liability case. To win in court, you must prove these legal elements:
Legal Elements of Dog Bite:
- Ownership: The Defendant owned a dog.
- Conduct: The Defendant's dog bit you in a public place or on private property.
- Harm: You were harmed, and the dog contributed to causing you harm.
See how to prove each element.
Example: see case example for a dog bite case.
Legal Elements of Injury Caused by Wild Animals:
- Ownership/Control: The Defendant owned a dangerous animal.
- Harm: You were harmed, and the animal caused the harm.
See how to prove each element.
Example
The Defendant, your neighbor, kept a tiger in a cage in their backyard. The tiger escaped and attacked you while you were out on a walk in the neighborhood. You are seeking damages for your medical bills.
Legal Elements of Injury Caused by Domestic Animal with Dangerous Propensities:
- Ownership/Control: The Defendant owned, kept, or controlled the animal.
- Unusually Dangerous: The animal had an unusually dangerous nature or tendency, and before you were injured, the Defendant knew or should have known that the animal had this nature or tendency.
- Harm: You were harmed, and the animal’s nature or tendency was a substantial factor in causing you harm.
See how to prove each element.
Example
The Defendant had recently moved into your neighborhood with a dog that they kept in their backyard. During a picnic in their backyard, the dog, known for biting neighbors in the past, lunged at you, causing you to fall and injure your hand. Seeking damages for medical expenses.
Ultrahazardous Activities
If the Defendant engaged in an ultrahazardous activity that caused harm, they are responsible for it, regardless of their care. If you were harmed, you may hold the Defendant strictly liable. To win in court, prove the legal elements are true:
Legal Elements of Ultrahazardous Activities
- Conduct: Defendant engaged in ultrahazardous activity.
- Harm: You were harmed, and Defendant’s ultrahazardous activity was a substantial factor in causing harm.
- Anticipation from Risk: Your harm was the kind anticipated from the risk created by ultrahazardous activity.
See how to prove each element.
Example
You were awoken by an explosion near your home at night. A commercial building on your block was on fire. It was caused by chemicals stored by a company renting the building. After a few days, you had health issues and seek damages for medical care.
How to prove an element
To prove an element is true, evidence is essential. Testimony is considered evidence, but additional evidence is also helpful. Organize evidence by adding important events to a timeline showing what happened in the case. Here are examples of events and evidence to include in your timeline to convince the judge and win your case.
OWNERSHIP/CONTROL:
- Product labels, manuals, receipts, contracts, or warranty info linking Defendant to the product.
- Registration documents, vet records, or witness statements showing ownership of the animal.
- Photos, videos, or social media posts associating Defendant with the animal.
- Photos, videos, or social media posts linking Defendant to the ultrahazardous activity.
- Permits or contracts related to the ultrahazardous activity.
CONDUCT:
- Product manual or contract detailing product functionality.
- Expert witness statement on product performance and expected safety levels.
- Photographs or videos showing harm caused by the animal.
- Police reports filed for injuries from the animal.
- Media linking Defendant to ultrahazardous activity.
- Expert witness statement on risks of ultrahazardous activity.
HARM:
- Eyewitness accounts, videos, photos, or evidence of product link to injuries.
- Expert testimony on product/activity causation of harm.
- Medical records indicating injury cause.
- Medical bills for injuries, including pets.
- Expert medical testimony on injury details and long-term effects.
- Cost estimates for future injury treatments.
- Employment records showing wage loss from injuries.
Case Example of a Dog Bite Case
Example
A neighbor doesn't follow leash laws and allows their dog off-leash in the neighborhood. While walking, their dog attacked you and your dog, causing minor injuries to you and major injuries to your dog. Both needed medical care. Your dog now needs professional training due to the trauma from the attack.
Proving the Element of Ownership:
You are certain that the neighbor owns the dog that attacked you. You have seen them walking the dog before and have photographs as evidence. Additionally, you checked the city’s pet registration website and confirmed that a similar-looking dog is registered to the neighbor.
Proving the Element of Conduct:
The neighbor’s dog bit you and your dog on the sidewalk where you both live. You took photos of the injuries and filed a police report on the same day. The evidence connects the neighbor’s dog with the attack.
Proving the Element of Harm:
You had to pay for a visit to urgent care and multiple visits to the veterinarian for your dog’s injuries, along with professional training for the dog to recover from the attack. You are looking to recover these costs from the Defendant.
For the injuries, you provide medical records and veterinary records to show that these were a direct result of the dog bites. For your dog’s trauma requiring professional training, you obtain expert witness testimony confirming that your dog did not have behavior problems before the attack.
The total cost for urgent care was $180. The cost of treating your dog’s injuries was $2,200. After your dog recovered, you paid $600 for a professional trainer to rehabilitate his behavior. Therefore, you are seeking a total of $2,980 from the Defendant.