►Strict liability involves extending the responsibility of the vendor or manufacturer to all individuals who might be injured by the product, even in the absence of fault.
► A manufacturer, seller, or lessor of goods will be liable, regardless of intent or the exercise of reasonable care, for any personal injury or property damage to consumers, users, and bystanders caused by the goods it manufactures, sells, or leases if:
∙ the product is defective when the defendant sells it (either to an end-user or to another seller for ultimate resale); ∙
the defendant is normally engaged in the business of selling or otherwise distributing the product in question;
∙ the product is unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer because of its defective condition;
∙ the plaintiff suffers physical harm to self or property as a result of using or consuming the product;
∙ the defective condition of the product proximately causes the plaintiff’s harm; and
∙ the product had not been substantially changed between the time the defendant sold or otherwise distributed it and the time the plaintiff was injured.
►An injured party must prove that the item was defective, the defect proximately caused the injury, and the defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous.