Smith v. Reitman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 federal appellate · 2 district · 9 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In order to make out a case of malpractice, which is a species of negligence, the plaintiff must show that his injury was a result of the failure to use “that degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by the profession in his own or similar localities.” * * * He can do this by direct evidence about the standard in his locality and the procedure used in his case, in order to demonstrate that it fell short of that standard. * * * [However a] plaintiff can also make out a case of negligence without direct testimony of a failure to meet the requisite standards of care and skill if the evidence makes out a case under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. This doctrine “is a common sense rule which allows an inference of negligence where the occurrence complained of ordinarily would not happen in the absence of negligence.” * * *”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Doctors' Hospital