Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers | December 17, 2025 | Personal Injury
If you have been hurt because of someone else’s conduct, you may be entitled to significant compensation for your injuries. However, proving your case requires an understanding of terms like “negligence” and “strict liability.” These legal terms can have a big effect on what you need to prove as part of your claim.
Keep reading below to learn all the differences between the two and how they might affect your personal injury claim.
What Is Negligence?
Most personal injury claims are based on the legal concept of negligence. In simple terms, negligence occurs when someone’s careless behavior causes injuries to another person.
Proving negligence requires proving three elements:
- Duty of care: A legal duty to uphold a certain standard of behavior, typically established through law, morals, or custom. In most cases, the standard required is the way a reasonable person would act under similar circumstances.
- Breach of duty: The defendant, either through action or inaction, failed to uphold the standard of care previously established.
- Causation: Your injuries were both a direct and foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s behavior.
- Damages: You have suffered actual damages, such as medical bills, pain and suffering, or other losses.
Negligence is common in many types of personal injury claims, including car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, and more.
What Is Strict Liability?
Strict liability refers to a situation where someone is held responsible for their actions, even when no negligence or carelessness is present. Simply by engaging in this type of conduct, a party can be held liable for any resulting damages. There is no need to prove negligent, careless, or reckless behavior.
There are a few types of conduct that fall under the category of strict liability. Some common examples include:
Ultrahazardous Activities
Some activities are so inherently dangerous that those who engage in these behaviors are responsible for any damage they cause. For instance, contractors who perform blasting for construction sites or tree cutters may have strict liability for their actions. The danger associated with these activities is so great that no amount of care can adequately minimize the risk.
Dog Bites
West Virginia enforces strict liability for dog bites if the dog is unleashed in public. The owner may be held liable for any injuries resulting from a bite, even if the dog had no prior history of biting or aggression.
Defective Products
Product manufacturers can be held strictly liable for any injuries caused by a defective product that they introduced into the chain of commerce. Injured consumers are not required to prove negligence on the part of the defendant. They usually only have to show that the product was defective and that they suffered injuries as a result.
Damages Available to Injured Victims
Victims who are injured in cases involving either negligence or strict liability are typically entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages. This means that a victim may recover compensation for both their monetary losses and their less tangible losses, such as physical and emotional pain and trauma.
Some common examples of these damages include:
- Current and future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost benefits
- Future reduced earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Diminished quality of life
- PTSD
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you identify all the damages that may be available in your case.
Contact Our Charleston Personal Injury Lawyers at Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
While the plaintiff has the burden of proof in both negligence and strict liability cases, the elements that must be proven differ slightly. In negligence claims, the victim must prove their injuries as well as the defendant’s carelessness. When it comes to strict liability, the victim only needs to prove that the defendant’s conduct caused them harm.
For more information, please contact an experienced Charleston personal injury lawyer at Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers, to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have convenient locations in Charleston, Beckley, Morgantown, WV.
Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers – Charleston
746 Myrtle Rd
Charleston, WV 25314
(304) 346-5990
Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers – Beckley
101 N Kanawha St, Suite 101
Beckley, WV 25801
(304) 252-5990
Farmer, Cline & Campbell Personal Injury Lawyers – Morgantown
453 Suncrest Towne Centre Drive, Suite 300
Morgantown, WV 26505
(304) 225-5990
