Usually when a person is injured, they know exactly what the at-fault party did to cause their injury. For example, if a store employee mops a floor, fails to put out a “Wet Floor” sign, and you fall on the wet floor and injure yourself, it doesn’t take in-depth analysis to know that the store employee’s negligence in failing to warn of the wet floor caused your fall. Likewise, if you are involved in a car crash whereby the at-fault party pulls out in front of you causing a collision, we know the at-fault party’s failure to yield was the cause of the crash and your resulting injuries.
But what can an injured party due to prove a negligence claim against the at-fault party when the injured party has no direct evidence of what the at-fault party did to cause their injury? In those situations, that’s where the legal doctrine of res ipsa loquitor may come into play.
Res ipsa loquitor is a Latin phrase meaning “the thing speaks for itself”. In other words, res ipsa loquitor provides that the occurrence of something happening in and of itself may imply negligence against the at-fault party. The very nature of the accident can imply that the at-fault party must have been negligent for the accident to have occurred in the first place. Like in many states, Missouri permits plaintiffs to rely on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor to prove negligence against the at-fault party based only on circumstantial evidence.
To prove a claim of negligence against the at-fault party based upon res ipsa loquitor, Missouri requires the plaintiff to prove 3 elements: 1) the incident resulting in injury to the plaintiff is of the kind which ordinarily occurs due to someone’s negligence; 2) the incident is caused by an instrumentality under the defendant’s management and control; and 3) the defendant has superior knowledge or access to information as to the cause of the occurrence.
While the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor is not appropriate for every case, it can be a valuable tool to prove negligence in certain cases. These can include medical malpractice cases (e.g., a medical tool is left inside your body during a surgical procedure), product liability claims (e.g., your cellphone suddenly catches on fire in your hand as you are using it), or premises liability claims (e.g., you are visiting a restaurant and suddenly your chair gives out and you fall to the floor). In each of these instances, while specific acts of negligence may also be found, the incident that caused the harm speaks for itself and implies negligence against another party. Res ipsa loquitor thereby provides a rebuttable presumption of negligence in each of these cases.
As such, if you or a loved one has been injured in an event whereby you are unable to point to a specific negligent act (but common-sense dictates someone must have been negligent), it’s important you reach out to an experienced injury attorney for a comprehensive assessment of your claim. At the A.W. Smith Law Firm, our attorneys are knowledgeable of all aspects of negligence law, including the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor, and will be able to evaluate the merits of your claim.
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