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It happens quite often that an event causes damage and there is no obvious person to whose faulty behavior the damage can be attributed. Then the principle that everyone has to bear his own damage plays a central role. However, there are a number of cases in which there is reason to shift the damages to someone other than the victim who suffered it in the first place. They have in common that the person who becomes liable is somehow responsible for, or profits from, the fact that there is a possibility of faultless damages. Typical examples of strict liability concern damage brought about by animals and by objects that are dangerous by nature, or because they are defective.Arguments for Strict Liability Whereas fault liability relates to the obligation to pay damages for wrongful behavior on the side of the tortfeasor, this link between liability and fault is cut through in the case of strict liability. As for the basic decision on either fault or strict liability, it is necessary to first establish the criteria on which the choice is to be determined. When we are dealing with the liability for defective products, for example, there are arguments in favor of strict liability. These arguments are that strict liability may offer– more protection for the injured party (consumer protection), – an incentive for improving safety, – better options for insurance, – fewer problems in determining liability, which saves in procedural costs.Consequently, when dealing with product liability in the context of industrial production, arguments in favor of strict liability outweigh the arguments underpinning the adage “no liability without fault.” By keeping an animal, the keeper creates the risk that this animal will cause damage. Then there is reason to hold the keeper of this animal liable when the actual damage was caused even if he did not do anything wrong. Similarly, the owner of a car creates the risk that the car will cause damage, even if the owner is not driving, and is not at fault in a particular case. Cars make society more dangerous, and this is reason to hold car owners liable, because they profit from these danger-creating objects. In the remainder of this section, we will sketch the development of strict liability in the light of progressive industrialization.
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