Helton v. Forest Park Baptist Church

Kentucky Court of Appeals · Torts

TortsPremises LiabilityRes Ipsa LoquiturSummary Judgmentres ipsa loquiturunknown instrumentalityexclusive controlpremises liability

Facts

A two-and-one-half-year-old child was injured in the eye while in the church nursery during religious services. The nursery was supervised by two adults described by the parents as mature and responsible, and the nursery coordinator had examined the nursery and toys a few days earlier and found them safe and in good working order. No one saw the accident happen, no one knew what object caused the injury, where it came from, how long it had been there, or how it got into the nursery, and post-incident examination revealed no object that could have caused the injury. The child's parents also observed no dangerous or unsafe condition when they left her in the nursery.

Issue

Whether the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applied to the child's injury in the church nursery despite the absence of evidence identifying the instrumentality that caused the injury. Whether, in the absence of such evidence, summary judgment for the appellees was proper.

Rule

To invoke res ipsa loquitur, three essential elements must be met: (1) the instrumentality must be under the control or management of the appellees; (2) the circumstances, according to common knowledge and experience, must create a clear inference that the accident would not have happened if the defendant had not been negligent; and (3) the injury must have resulted from the accident. Under Kentucky law, the doctrine is inapplicable where the instrumentality producing the injury is unknown or is not in the exclusive control of the defendant, and negligence may not be presumed but must be established by evidence rather than conjecture.

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Test yourself

One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

At a child-care room inside Lakeside Community Hall in Louisville, three-year-old Nora Patel suddenly suffered a deep cut near her ear while playing during a weekend event. No adult saw what happened, no object was ever identified, and an inspection immediately afterward revealed no broken toy, sharp fixture, or other item that could have caused the injury.

If Nora's parents sue the hall and rely only on res ipsa loquitur, how should the court rule?

Explanation. Res ipsa loquitur requires proof that the injury-producing instrumentality was under the defendant's control or management and that the circumstances clearly support an inference that the accident would not have happened absent negligence. Where no one can identify what caused the injury, those elements are not met. The mere occurrence of an accident on the premises is insufficient, and a jury would be left to speculate. (Derived from Helton v. Forest Park Baptist Church (n.d.).)