Absolute liability in United States

Absolute liability

Liability even when there is no proof of negligence. Strict liability appears most often in cases of product liability where manufacturers are held legally responsible for injuries caused by defects in their products, even if they were non-negligent; liability that is imposed without fault.

The essence of a claim based on strict liability is that the degree of negligence of the defendant is irrelevant to the determination of their liability for the consequences of the accident. Such liability may be imposed because of the inherently dangerous instrumentality which is governed as a source of strict liability, for example, alcohol. Dram Shop Acts hold a business which sells alcoholic drinks or a host who serves liquor to a drinker who is obviously intoxicated or close to it, strictly liable to anyone injured by the drunken patron or guest. However some states specifically ban such liability by statute. Another example of strict liability is the attractive nuisance doctrine for example holds that where a landowner has land which has a dangerous feature which attracts children – a pond, a mine

The equivalent German terms are Gefährdungshaftung, unbedingte Haftpflicht, Kausalhaftung, Deliktshaftung and Gefährdungshaftung. Gefährdungshaftung however best conveys the concept of strict liability, i.e. liability without fault or liability where fault is irrebutably presumed. For example, the German regime of motor liability implicates any owner of a motor vehicle for the legal liability of all damages which arise out of the use of the vehicle. Drivers are also strictly liable, however drivers can reduce their liability by a proof of non-culpability. In cases of two damaged vehicles the damages to each vehicle will be used to offset the determination of the loss.

The equivalent French term is « responsabilité de plein droit ». The law of 19 May 1998 established a strict liability regime for manufacturers and furnishers of defective products, including defective medicines. The French strict liability regime, like the Anglo-American common law, is statutory and concurrent to the regime de droit commun (literally: common law regime, i.e. the regime of the French Civil Code). Similarly to the Anglo-American legal system the defective character of the product is not presumed. The similar defences, for example that the plaintiff was also at fault, can exonerate defendants under the strict liability statute.

See also: per se liability, strict liability
Rylands v. Fletcher, 3 H.L. 330; Clark-Aiken Co. v. Cromwell-Wright Co., lnc. (Mass.), 323 N.E.2d 876.