res ipsa loquitur

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Definition

Noun: - A rule of evidence in tort law: A legal doctrine or principle where the very fact that an accident or injury occurred is taken as sufficient evidence to infer negligence on the part of the defendant, provided the incident is of a kind that ordinarily does not happen without negligence and was under the defendant's exclusive control.

Usage
  • In legal argument and writing: The term is used by lawyers and judges to invoke this specific doctrine of circumstantial evidence in a civil case.
  • As a noun phrase: It functions as a singular noun phrase, often used with a verb in the third person singular (e.g., ).
Examples
  • The plaintiff's lawyer argued that because a surgical instrument was left inside the patient, an event that does not ordinarily occur in the absence of negligence.
  • The court held that the doctrine of was applicable, allowing the case to proceed to trial based on the inferred negligence.
  • In his ruling, the judge stated, "—the thing speaks for itself—and thus a presumption of negligence is established."
Advanced Usage
  • Legal maxim: The phrase is a Latin maxim directly imported into English legal terminology. Its literal meaning, "the thing speaks for itself," encapsulates the doctrine's logic.
  • Elements for application: In legal practice, for to apply, three conditions are typically required:
    • The event must be of a type that does not normally occur without someone's negligence.
    • The instrumentality causing the harm must have been under the exclusive control of the defendant.
    • The plaintiff must not have contributed to the cause.
Variants and Related Words
  • Res ipsa (n): A common informal shortening of the full term in legal discourse.
    • The attorney moved to apply the principle of res ipsa.
Synonyms
  • Circumstantial evidence of negligence: (Descriptive phrase) Evidence from which negligence can be inferred based on the circumstances.
  • Doctrine of inferred negligence: (Descriptive phrase) A legal principle allowing negligence to be deduced from the facts.
Notes on Meaning

This term has a highly specialized, technical meaning confined almost exclusively to the field of law, specifically the law of torts (civil wrongs). It is not used in general, everyday English conversation. Its meaning is fixed and does not have different interpretations outside its legal context.

Noun
  1. a rule of evidence whereby the negligence of an alleged wrongdoer can be inferred from the fact that the accident happened