Res ipsa loquitur – This legal term comes from Latin. It is used in the sphere of Tort Law. There refers to situations where negligence is presumed on the defendant since the object causing injury was within their supervision and maintained by them (i.e. it is presumable that they could have acted enough to avoid the damages). For example your neighbor above leaves the water open and it causes a flood in your apartment. The “res ipsa loquitur” presumption which can be attacked by showing that the event was an inevitable accident and had nothing to do with the defendant’s responsibility of control or supervision.