Cavero v. Franklin General Benevolent Society

I dissent.

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is not applicable unless the accident is of a kind that ordinarily does not occur in *312the absence of someone’s negligence. (See Prosser, Torts, p. 295.) Since the determination whether the accident is of that kind is usually made in the light of common experience and since medical knowledge is not within common experience, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is usually held inapplicable in cases of malpractice. It can be invoked, however, “where a layman is able to say as a matter of common knowledge and observation that the consequences of…