Strict liability is an exception to the negligence standard that applies in most personal injury and wrongful death cases. In a typical, non-animal attack case, to recover compensation you must prove that someone else made a mistake leading to your injury (in legal terms, they were “negligent”).
Under the rule of strict liability, proof of negligence is not required. For example, in order to pursue a successful claim for a dog bite under California law, it is enough to show that:
The person against whom you filed your claim is the dog’s owner;
You were bitten by the dog;
You were lawfully on the premises where you were bitten (in other words, you were not trespassing); and,
The bite caused you physical or emotional injury.
California has similar strict liability rules that apply to animal attacks other than dog bites, as well.