Opinion ID: 1479434
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur

Text: Finally, the plaintiff asserts that the trial justice erred in granting a directed verdict on the res ipsa loquitur count. To recover under this doctrine, [a]ll that is required that the plaintiff produce sufficient evidence from which a reasonable man could say that, on the whole, it was more likely than not that there was negligence on the part of the defendant. Parrillo v. Giroux Co., Inc., R.I., 426 A.2d 1313, 1319 (1981); see Scittarelli v. Providence Gas Co., 415 A.2d at 1044-46. Since the plaintiff failed to prove that this accident would not have occurred without negligence, we affirm the directed verdict in regard to this count. The plaintiff's appeal is denied and dismissed, the judgment appealed from is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the Superior Court.