Res ipsa loquitur

If you’ve ever taken a Torts class, and wanted a better example of res ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”) than a barrel falling out of a warehouse, how about this?

A 1,500-pound wrecking ball broke free of a crane and careened through downtown streets in Meadville on Monday, bouncing off cars before coming to rest in the trunk of a Ford Taurus.

Along its nearly mile-long journey, the 3-foot sphere damaged 13 vehicles and injured three people. It appeared that the cable used to attach the ball to the crane arm snapped, police said.

- From the Pittsburg Tribune-Review, photo by Susan Fenton for The Tribune-Review



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About Kristopher Nelson


I'm currently a graduate student of the history of law and technology at the University of California, San Diego. I also provide law and technology consulting services. Additionally, I'm a non-practicing lawyer and former developer/sysadmin at a biotech non-profit. For more about me and my work, see krisnelson.org or my Google Profile.

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Post title: Res ipsa loquitur

Authored by: Kristopher Nelson

Date posted: Jul 10, 2007

Categorized as: law

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