Principle: The maxim Res Ipsa Loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) shifts the burden of proof to the defendant when the accident is of a kind that does not ordinarily occur without negligence, and the instrumentality was under the defendant's exclusive control.
Facts: A pedestrian walking past a multi-storey hospital is struck on the head by a heavy surgical tool falling from a fifth-floor operating theatre window. Who bears the burden of proof regarding negligence?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. The hospital must prove it was not negligent, as Res Ipsa Loquitur applies

  1. Step 1: Under the evidentiary maxim res ipsa loquitur, a rebuttable presumption of negligence arises where the incident causing injury is of a nature that ordinarily does not happen without negligence and the instrument of harm was under the exclusive management of the defendant.
  2. Step 2: A heavy surgical tool falling from an operating room window onto a pedestrian on the street below does not occur in ordinary circumstances without negligence, and the surgical facility was under the sole control of the hospital.
  3. Step 3: As a result, the legal burden shifts to the hospital to demonstrate that it was not negligent.
Answer
The hospital must prove it was not negligent, as Res Ipsa Loquitur applies.

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