Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

Negligence-Res Lpsa Loquitur-Application To Medical Malpractice Actions: 1951-196, Peter D. Byrnes S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Res ipsa loquitur, "the thing speaks for itself," has been the subject matter of extensive legal literature since its inception almost a century ago. It is now well settled that res ipsa loquitur is no more than an inference of negligence from circumstantial evidence. The doctrine is applicable if an act or occurrence is of the type that ordinarily would not take place without negligence, assuming the plaintiff has himself been passive, and if the instrumentality causing the harm is within the exclusive control of the defendant. The application of res ipsa loquitur to the medical malpractice area has …