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.
Martinsville is an independent city surrounded by the county seat of Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,416 at the 2000 census. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes. The paper clip-shaped Martinsville Speedway, the shortest track in NASCAR stock car racing [0.526 miles (0.847 km)] and also one of the first paved "speedways", being built in 1947, is located just outside the city in the town of Ridgeway. Martinsville is the principal city of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Henry County and the city of Martinsville. The micropolitan area had a combined population of 73,346 as of the 2000 census.