Products liability doctrine holds a manufacturer, or other party involved in selling a product, strictly liable when an article, placed into the market with knowledge that it is to be used without inspection for defects, proves to have a defect that causes a personal injury. Consumers who are injured because of a fault with a product that the consumers had no ability to protect themselves against may recover against the manufacturer under a theory of products liability.
Coalinga (formerly, Coaling Station, Coalingo and Coalinga Station) is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 11,668 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 18,061 in 2007. It is the site of both Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital. Coalinga is located 52 miles (84 km) southwest of Fresno, at an elevation of 673 feet (205 m).