Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur is a Latin phrase literally meaning "the thing speaks for itself." It is a concept used in the tort of negligence where a particular event is taken as constituting a negligent act without the need for the plaintiff to adduce evidence on the point. The very nature of the event is taken as being sufficient proof of the negligence. Chief Justice Barwick of the Australian High Court expressed it as follows:

"An accident will itself provide evidence of negligence where in the ordinary affairs of mankind such an incident is unlikely to occur without want of care on the part of the person sued".