Res Ipsa Loquitur

Question 1

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Answer 1

It’s a legal rule that helps plaintiffs in negligence cases when they can’t point to exactly what the defendant did wrong, but the accident clearly looks like someone was careless.

It allows the plaintiff to say:
“I may not know exactly what happened, but this type of accident doesn’t usually happen unless someone was negligent — and that someone had control over the thing that caused my injury.”

1. 🔧 The Event Is the Kind That Normally Doesn’t Happen Without Negligence
   The accident must be unusual unless someone was careless.
   Examples of qualifying events:
   * A surgical instrument is left in your body after surgery
   * An elevator falls suddenly
   * A chair collapses when you sit in it at a restaurant
   * A barrel falls from a warehouse window and hits a pedestrian
   NOT examples:
   * Slipping on an icy sidewalk (it happens naturally)
   * A driver crashes during a thunderstorm (could be no one’s fault)
   * Tripping over your own shoelaces in a store
   In short: You must show this kind of accident is not normal unless someone was negligent.
2. 🧰 The Thing That Caused the Injury Was Under the Defendant’s Control
   The dangerous object or condition must have been in the defendant’s hands — not someone else’s.
   Examples:
   * A store’s stacked boxes fall onto a customer → store had control
   * A hospital controls everything in the operating room
   * A landlord controls the building stairwell
   If multiple people had control (like several doctors), many courts will still allow Res Ipsa, especially in medical malpractice cases.
   Bar Tip: Exclusive control doesn’t mean only one person can be blamed — it means the defendant was responsible for the object or area.
3. 🚫 The Plaintiff Did Not Contribute to the Harm
   The plaintiff must show they didn’t cause their own injury.
   Examples:
   * A restaurant customer just sat in a chair and it broke → did nothing wrong ✅
   * A patient was unconscious during surgery → could not contribute ✅
   * A person jumps on a chair and it breaks → may have caused it ❌
   Bottom line: Plaintiff must be passive, not reckless or interfering.

** ** Creates INFERENCE of Negligence if:

1. Accident would not norally occured unless negligence
2. Defendant had Exclusive Control