Ybarra v. Spangard
Citation: 25 Cal. 2d 486 (1944)
Facts
Ybarra underwent surgery and awoke with paralysis in his right arm that had not been present before. He could not identify which of the several doctors and nurses present had caused the injury because he was unconscious throughout. He sued all of them.
Issue
Can res ipsa loquitur be applied when there are multiple defendants, none of whom may have been individually responsible for the harm?
Holding
Yes. When a plaintiff suffers injury during an operation while under anesthesia, and the injury is of a kind that does not ordinarily occur without negligence, all defendants who had control over the instruments or procedures have a duty to explain the injury. Res ipsa loquitur applies to all of them collectively.
Rule
Res ipsa with multiple defendants: When a patient under anesthesia suffers an unexplained injury, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies to all persons and entities exercising control over the patient’s body or the instruments used. The burden shifts to each defendant to explain their role. Defendants cannot escape liability merely by pointing to each other.
Significance
- Extends res ipsa to the multiple-defendant medical context
- Critical for unconscious surgical patients who cannot identify a specific tortfeasor
- Creates collective liability potential — or at least collective duty to explain — among all persons in the operating room
- Criticized for difficulty of application: who “controls” the situation? Widely used in medical malpractice