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.
Vestal is a town within Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York, and lies between the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania border. As of the 2000 census, the population was 26,535, estimated to have grown to 27,423 in 2005. The Town of Vestal is on the south border of the county and is west and southwest of Binghamton. Vestal is home to Binghamton University which draws visitors to the town through its entertainment and sporting events. The university adds more than 14,000 students to the town and employs more than 3,000 faculty and staff.