Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur is a Latin legal principle meaning the facts speak for themselves, allowing a court to infer negligence from the nature of an accident alone, without direct proof of exactly how the driver was careless.

It typically applies where the accident would not normally happen without someone’s carelessness, such as a vehicle mounting a pavement with no other explanation. Courts still weigh this alongside the ordinary evidence used in how fault is decided in Malaysia.

The principle shifts the practical burden onto the other driver to explain what happened, but it does not remove the need to gather your own evidence at the scene.

A vehicle that suddenly veers off a straight, empty road with no other traffic involved is a common example where the principle might be argued.