Old Island Fumigation, Inc., fumigated buildings A and B of a condominium complex using Vikane gas. Buildings A and B, together with building C, form a U shape; buildings B and C have between them an atrium and were thought to be separated by an impenetrable fire wall. Although Old Island evacuated occupants of buildings A and B before the fumigation, the company advised the occupants of building C that they could remain in their dwellings while the other buildings were treated. Several residents of building C became ill shortly after the Vikane gas was released into the adjacent buildings. The hospital admission forms indicate that the cause of their illnesses was sulfuryl fluoride poisoning. Sulfuryl fluoride is the active chemical ingredient of Vikane. Several months after this incident, an architect hired by the fumigation company discovered that the fire wall between buildings B and C was defective and contained a four-foot-by-eighteen-inch open space through which the gas had entered building C. The defect was only visible from a vantage point within the crawl space and had been missed by various building inspectors and by the fumigation company during an earlier inspection. The occupants of building C who had been injured by the Vikane fumes sued the fumigator. Explain whether the fumigator is strictly liable.
Old Island Fumigation, Inc., fumigated buildings A and B of a condominium complex using Vikane gas. Buildings A and B, together with building C, form a U shape; buildings B and C have between them an atrium and were thought to be separated by an impenetrable fire wall. Although Old Island evacuated occupants of buildings A and B before the fumigation, the company advised the occupants of building C that they could remain in their dwellings while the other buildings were treated. Several residents of building C became ill shortly after the Vikane gas was released into the adjacent buildings. The hospital admission forms indicate that the cause of their illnesses was sulfuryl fluoride poisoning. Sulfuryl fluoride is the active chemical ingredient of Vikane. Several months after this incident, an architect hired by the fumigation company discovered that the fire wall between buildings B and C was defective and contained a four-foot-by-eighteen-inch open space through which the gas had entered building C. The defect was only visible from a vantage point within the crawl space and had been missed by various building inspectors and by the fumigation company during an earlier inspection. The occupants of building C who had been injured by the Vikane fumes sued the fumigator. Explain whether the fumigator is strictly liable.
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