What does Res Ipsa Loquitur allow in negligence cases?

Res Ipsa Loquitur is a legal doctrine used in negligence cases that allows the presumption of negligence to arise from the mere occurrence of certain types of events. This means that when an accident occurs that typically would not happen without negligence, the fact itself indicates that someone was negligent, even in the absence of direct evidence demonstrating how the negligence occurred.

The application of this doctrine typically requires that three conditions be met: the event must be of a kind that ordinarily does not happen in the absence of negligence, the instrumentality or agent that caused the injury must be under the control of the defendant, and the injured party must not have contributed to the event. Therefore, when an unusual event takes place, and it is known that such an event usually does not happen without someone's negligence, the court can allow the jury to infer negligence based solely on circumstantial evidence.

This principle is important as it shifts some of the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant, effectively allowing the jury to conclude that negligence likely occurred without needing extensive direct evidence.

In contrast, other options suggest limitations that do not accurately reflect the nature of Res Ipsa Loquitur. For instance, it does not require direct evidence exclusively for a negligence claim, nor does it presume