Hake v. George Wiedemann Brewing Co.

The question presented is whether the trial court erred in refusing to apply the rule of res ipsa loquitur at the close of plaintiff’s case.

It is well established by earlier decisions of this court that res ipsa loquitur is a rule of evidence which permits the trier of fact to infer negligence on the part of the defendant from the circumstances surrounding the injury to plaintiff. (See Fink v. New York Central Rd. Co. [1944], 144 Ohio St. 1, for a discussion of the concept of res ipsa loquitur generally, and see Soltz v. Colony Recreation Center [1949], 151 Ohio St. 503, for a review of the…