Res Ipsa Loquitur — 'The Thing Speaks for Itself'

Res ipsa loquitur — Latin for “the thing speaks for itself.” Some accidents are so telling that the mere fact of their happening is evidence of negligence.

The Doctrine

Ordinarily the plaintiff must prove the defendant’s negligence. But where the plaintiff cannot know exactly what went wrong — because the whole thing was under the defendant’s control — the maxim res ipsa loquitur shifts the burden to the defendant to show he was not negligent.

Conditions for Application

flowchart TD
    A["Res ipsa loquitur applies when…"]:::root
    A --> B["The thing causing harm was under the<br/>defendant's EXCLUSIVE control"]:::leaf
    A --> C["The accident is such as would NOT<br/>ordinarily happen without negligence"]:::leaf
    A --> D["There is no other explanation<br/>consistent with due care"]:::leaf
    D --> E["Burden SHIFTS to the defendant<br/>to disprove negligence"]:::shift

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    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef shift fill:#E6FFE6,stroke:#1E8A3A,color:#000;
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Leading Cases

• Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Subhagwanti (1966) — a clock tower collapsed in a busy area, killing passers-by. The tower was under the Corporation’s exclusive control and such structures do not fall if properly maintained. The Court applied res ipsa loquitur — the collapse itself spoke of negligence, and the Corporation was liable.
• Byrne v. Boadle (1863) — the origin of the maxim: a barrel of flour fell from a warehouse window onto a passer-by; barrels do not fall without negligence.

The maxim is a rule of evidence, not of liability — it does not create negligence, it merely lets the court infer it from the circumstances until the defendant explains otherwise.

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