What does res ipsa loquitur mean?

What does res ipsa loquitur mean?

• A. The thing speaks for itself
• B. The testimony of an expert witness
• C. A presumption of malpractice
• D. A policy requiring informed consent

Answer: (A)

Res ipsa loquitur is a rule used in negligence cases to let the facts speak for themselves. The Latin phrase translates to “the thing speaks for itself.” It applies when an accident or injury happens in a way that doesn’t normally occur without someone’s negligence, and the thing that caused the injury was under the defendant’s exclusive control. Because direct proof of the exact act of negligence isn’t available, this rule lets the jury infer negligence from the mere occurrence of the event, shifting some proof burden to the defendant to show there wasn’t negligent conduct. That’s why the correct choice is the one that matches the idea of “the thing speaks for itself.” It isn’t about expert testimony, it isn’t a blanket presumption of malpractice, and it isn’t a policy about informed consent—those are different concepts and do not capture the meaning of the phrase.

Res ipsa loquitur is a rule used in negligence cases to let the facts speak for themselves. The Latin phrase translates to “the thing speaks for itself.” It applies when an accident or injury happens in a way that doesn’t normally occur without someone’s negligence, and the thing that caused the injury was under the defendant’s exclusive control. Because direct proof of the exact act of negligence isn’t available, this rule lets the jury infer negligence from the mere occurrence of the event, shifting some proof burden to the defendant to show there wasn’t negligent conduct.

That’s why the correct choice is the one that matches the idea of “the thing speaks for itself.” It isn’t about expert testimony, it isn’t a blanket presumption of malpractice, and it isn’t a policy about informed consent—those are different concepts and do not capture the meaning of the phrase.