Above, we reviewed many of the types of accidents that lead to personal injury claims and the practice areas that our injury lawyers focus on, such as motor vehicle accidents, bicycle accidents, truck accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, etc. But it’s also important to understand the different theories of liability that can be employed in a personal injury claim. These include:
Negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise the required degree of care for a given situation. For example, when a driver texts while operating a motor vehicle, they are operating their vehicle negligently. If negligence leads to an accident, the driver can be held liable for resulting harm.
Strict liability. Another theory of liability is strict liability, which does not require a plaintiff to prove the negligence of the defendant. In tort law, strict liability is most often applied to dog bites claims and product liability claims.
Intentional tort. The third theory of liability is liability for an intentional tort. Rather than being caused by negligence or carelessness, a person has an intentional tort case when they can prove that a defendant intended to cause them harm.