What is the Doctrine of Strict Liability?

The Doctrine of Strict Liability holds a person legally responsible for damages or injuries, even if they were not at fault or did not act negligently.

Established in the landmark English case Rylands v. Fletcher (1868), this rule states that if someone brings a dangerous substance onto their land that is likely to cause mischief and if it escapes, they are "strictly" liable for any resulting damage, regardless of how careful they were.

However, this doctrine is not absolute; it allows for specific defenses, such as "Act of God" or the "Plaintiff’s own fault" to avoid liability.