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.
Smithville (also Smithton) is an unincorporated community in southern Ritchie County, West Virginia, United States. It lies along West Virginia Route 47 south of the town of Harrisville, the county seat of Ritchie County. Its elevation is 686 feet (209 m). Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 26178. The North Bend Rail Trail passes through the community.