Martin works as a pizza delivery person. He parks his bike outside Regalia Inc. to deliver an order. Meanwhile, a damaged book rack in Regalia, which is situated on the first floor of the building, falls down through an open window and crashes on his bike. However, no one admits to having seen the rack fall. Can Martin recover against Regalia for negligence?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Martin can recover if he can prove that book racks do not fall out of windows in the absence of negligence and that Regalia Inc. had exclusive control of the rack prior to the fall. If the defendant had exclusive control of the thing that caused the injury, and the injury that occurred would not ordinarily happen in the absence of negligence, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself") creates an inference of negligence. This puts the burden on the defendant to show that the injury was not caused by his or her negligence. If the defendant fails to do so, he or she may be found liable.

Martin Works as a Pizza Delivery Person