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.
Oxford is a town located in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,821 at the 2000 Census. There are several areas in Oxford: Quaker Farms, Riverside and Oxford Center. Oxford belongs to the Naugatuck Valley Economic Development Region and the Central Naugatuck Valley Planning Area. Oxford used to be a very rural town with a moderate farming population. However, a University of Connecticut development study spanning 1985-2006 showed Oxford had the largest increase of development by percentage, growing 62% during that time. The Central Naugatuck Valley Office of the Council of Governments' spokesperson stated upon learning of the development study expressed concern that heavy development could result in flooding. The town had 47 working farms as of 2007. Out of all the 269 ZIP codes in Connecticut, the one for Oxford ranked 27th largest in terms of the number of working farms.