Res ipsa loquitur allows what type of evidence to prove negligence?

• A. Direct witness required
• B. Requires patient confession
• C. Circumstantial evidence allowed
• D. Only standard of care evidence

Answer: (C)

Res ipsa loquitur is a doctrine that lets negligence be inferred from the circumstances surrounding an injury, even without direct proof of a specific negligent act. It applies when the injury is of a kind that ordinarily would not occur absent negligence, and the instrumentality that caused the injury was under the defendant’s exclusive control. Because these conditions create an inference of negligence from what happened, the evidence used is circumstantial rather than direct eyewitness testimony of the negligent act. It does not require a patient confession or direct proof of a specific negligent act; instead, the circumstances themselves suggest negligence.