-a doctrine of law that one is presumed to be negligent if he/she/it had exclusive control

of whatever caused the injury even though there is no specific evidence of an act of negligence,
and without negligence the accident would not have happened.

In the common law of negligence, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (Latin for "the

thing speaks for itself") states that the elements of duty of care and breach can be
sometimes inferred from the very nature of the accident, even without direct evidence of
how any defendant behaved. a "duty" exists for a person to act "reasonably"; and

1. a "breach" of this duty occurs because a person acted outside this duty, or
"unreasonably"; and
2. there was "causation in fact"...the result would not have occurred "but for" the
"breach" of this duty;
3. there was actual legally cognizable harm suffered by the plaintiff who did nothing
wrong (i.e., no contributory negligence).
Upon a proof of res ipsa loquitur, the plaintiff need only establish the remaining two
elements of negligence—namely, that the plaintiff suffered harm, of which the accident
was the legal cause.

Typical in medical malpractice

Res ipsa loquitur often arises in the "scalpel left behind" variety of case.

For example:

1. a person goes to a doctor with abdominal pains after having his appendix
removed. X-rays show the patient has a metal object the size and shape of a
scalpel in his abdomen. It requires no further explanation to show the surgeon
who removed the appendix was negligent, as there is no legitimate reason for a
doctor to leave a scalpel in a body at the end of an appendectomy.
2. While under anesthetic, Isabel Patient's nerve in her arm is damaged although it was not
part of the surgical procedure, and she is unaware of which of a dozen medical people in
the room caused the damage. Under res ipsa loquitur all those connected with the
operation are liable for negligence. Lawyers often shorten the doctrine to "res ips," and
find it a handy shorthand for a complex doctrine.