Res Ipsa Loquitur

Res ipsa permits inference of negligence when accident ordinarily does not occur absent negligence and defendant had control.

Representative cases

• Cruz v. DaimlerChrysler Motors Corp. 66 A.3d 446 · Supreme Court of Rhode Island
• Kyle v. Dana Transport, Inc. 220 W. Va. 714 · West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
• Keyser v. KB Toys, Inc. 82 A.D.3d 713 · Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

Related Negligence rules

• Negligence: DutyDuty requires defendant to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to avoid foreseeable risks of harm.
• Standard of Care: Reasonable PersonStandard is objective; mental impairments irrelevant; physical disabilities incorporated.
• Custom EvidenceCustom is relevant but not conclusive of reasonable care.
• Professionals StandardProfessionals must meet the skill and knowledge of the average practitioner in the community.
• Informed ConsentDoctors must disclose risks a reasonable patient would consider material.
• Negligence Per SeViolation of a safety statute establishes duty and breach if plaintiff is in protected class and risk matches…
• Duty to RescueGenerally no duty to rescue absent special relationship or assumption of duty.
• Special RelationshipsRelationships like carrier-passenger or innkeeper-guest create affirmative duties of protection.

Part of Torts on Core Legal Rules — foundational MBE-tested principles with primary-source citations.