Principles of Risk Management and Insurance, 13th Edition

res ipsa Loquitur

An important modification of the law of negligence is the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, meaning “the thing speaks for itself.” Under this doctrine, the very fact that the injury or damage occurred establishes a presumption of negligence on behalf of the defendant. It is then up to the defendant to refute the presumption of negligence. That is, the accident or injury normally would not have occurred if the defendant had not been careless. Examples of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur include the following:

• A dentist extracts the wrong tooth.

• A surgeon leaves a surgical sponge in the patient’s abdomen.

• An operation is performed on the wrong patient or wrong limb.

To apply the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, the following requirements ...