The Blip Blop Blog (Team Entity)

Res ipsa loquitur simply means that the thing speaks for itself. In instances where the courts apply the principle, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant. The maxim is normally applied in instances where the cause of the damage, injury or illness is unknown and it is up to defendant to rebut the presumption that he or she had caused the accident, injury or illness. In Mahon v Osborne (1931) a patient died shortly after a surgery and the post mortem revealed that the surgeon who had conducted the surgery had negligently left a cotton swab in the patient’s body. The court held that there was no need to look any further and that the cotton swab was sufficient prove that the defendant had been negligent and had breached his duty of care i.e. the thing (the cotton swab) speaks for itself (res ipsa loquitur). The fact that the cotton swab was present in the body of the deceased was sufficient evidence that the defendant was guilty and the court need not look any further to i

Novus Actus Interveniens in tort is an intervening act that causes a break in the chain of causation and negates the defendant’s liability. A defendant is liable in tort when his action or inactions (omissions) cause some form of physical injury, psychiatric illness, or some type of damage to property. The injury, illness, or damage is normally the direct consequence of the defendant’s action or inactions (omissions). Causation is a chain i.e. an action or an inaction (omission) that leads to a result, often dire but nonetheless foreseeable and the defendant is often liable unless there is a break in the chain and a new, often independent act, causes a break in the chain. In the Oropesa (1943) there was a collision at sea between two ships. The Oropesa collided with another vessel, the Manchester Regiment and the vessel, the Manchester Regiment sustained serious damage. The captain of the Manchester Regiment ordered the crew to abandon ship. The captain having transferred 50

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio or ex turpi causa for short simply means that when the plaintiff has committed an illegal act, he cannot claim a legal remedy i.e. where the act is illegal a legal remedy is not available. Another way of looking at it is that no man should be allowed to profit from his crime. In Ashton and Turner (1981) the plaintiff was a passenger in a car that the defendant was driving. The pair had jointly committed a burglary and the defendant was drunk at the time. The car they were driving in subsequently crashed and the plaintiff sued. The court held that the principle of ex turpi causa prevented him from claiming. In Meah v McCreamer (No. 1) (1985) the plaintiff suffered severe head injuries as a result of a road accident caused by the plaintiff’s negligence that subsequently resulted in a change of personality. He became a sexual predator and was eventually convicted of sexually assaulting two women and causing injury to a third. The plaintiff sued t