Legal Definitions - Res Ipsa Loquitur

Res Ipsa Loquitur is a Latin phrase meaning "the thing speaks for itself." In the context of legal disputes, particularly those involving negligence, this principle allows a person who has been harmed to establish a strong inference, or presumption, that another party was negligent, even without direct evidence of their specific careless act.

This doctrine is invoked when the circumstances surrounding an injury are so unusual that the injury would not typically occur unless someone was negligent. It essentially shifts the burden, requiring the defendant to explain how the incident happened without their negligence, rather than the plaintiff having to pinpoint the exact negligent act.

To successfully argue Res Ipsa Loquitur, the plaintiff generally must demonstrate three key elements:

• The incident causing the harm is of a type that would not ordinarily happen without negligence.
• The object or cause of the harm was under the exclusive control of the defendant.
• The plaintiff did not contribute to their own injury in any way.

Here are some examples to illustrate how this principle applies:

• Example 1: Unexplained Injury During Medical Procedure

  Imagine a patient undergoes a routine, non-surgical diagnostic procedure, such as an MRI scan, and wakes up afterwards with a severe, unexplained burn on their arm that was not present before the procedure. The patient was unconscious or sedated during the scan and had no control over the equipment or environment.

  • This incident would not ordinarily happen without negligence (e.g., equipment malfunction, improper use, or inadequate safety protocols).
  • The MRI machine and the patient's care during the procedure were under the exclusive control of the medical facility and its staff.
  • The patient, being unconscious, could not have contributed to the burn.

  In this scenario, the principle of Res Ipsa Loquitur would allow the patient to argue that the medical facility was negligent, as "the thing speaks for itself" – the burn itself suggests negligence occurred under the facility's care.

• Example 2: Falling Object in a Public Space

  Consider a situation where a large, decorative ceiling tile suddenly falls from the ceiling of a newly constructed shopping mall, striking and injuring a shopper walking below. The shopper was simply minding their own business and did not interact with the ceiling in any way.

  • Ceiling tiles in a new building do not typically fall without some form of negligence in their installation or maintenance.
  • The installation and maintenance of the ceiling tiles were under the exclusive control of the construction company and/or the mall management.
  • The injured shopper did not contribute to the tile falling.

  Here, Res Ipsa Loquitur would allow the injured shopper to establish a presumption of negligence against the parties responsible for the mall's construction or maintenance, as the falling tile itself strongly implies a failure in care.