Opinion ID: 1112080
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the trial court properly refused to give a res ipsa loquitur instruction.

Text: Norris requested the trial court to instruct the jury on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. The trial court refused to give the instruction. There are three prerequisites to the application of res ipsa loquitur: (1) the event must be of a kind which normally does not occur in the absence of someone's negligence; (2) it must be caused by an agency or instrumentality within the exclusive control of the defendant; and (3) it must not have been due to any voluntary action or contribution on the part of the plaintiff. Lynden Transport, Inc. v. Haragan, 623 P.2d 789, 793-94 (Alaska 1981); Widmyer v. Southeast Skyways, Inc., 584 P.2d 1, 13 (Alaska 1978). The relevant inquiry here pertains only to the first two prongs of the foregoing test because the parties agree that Norris was not contributorily negligent.