Hoven v. Kelble, 79 Wis. 2d 444, 256 N.W.2d 379 (1977)

Under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor, a court or jury may infer that a defendant was negligent without any direct testimony about his conduct at the time the negligence occurred. Instead, the plaintiff must show that the accident could not have occured in the absence of negligence, and that the defendant had “exclusive control” over the instrument of negligence. Abrahamson’s majority opinion clarified the definition of “exclusive control” so that more of these claims could be pursued by injured people.