Giles v. City of New Haven 228 Conn. 441, 636 A.2d 1335 (1994) Giles was an elevator operator who was injured in an elevator mishap. She sued Otis Elevator for failing to inspect, maintain, and repair the elevator properly. There was no direct evidence against Otis, but Giles argued that since the accident occurred, Otis must have done something wrong. That's known as res ipsa loquitur. Otis argued that the Giles must have been partially negligent for the accident to have occurred as it did, since she was the one who was operating the elevator. Generally, in order to support a finding of res ipsa loquitur, a plaintiff has to show that the defendant was in control of the "instrumentality of harm" (aka the elevator), and that the injured person was not partially responsible for the accident. The Trial Court found for Giles. Otis appealed. The Appellate Court affirmed. Otis appealed. The Appellate Court found that there was sufficient evidence under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Traditionally, res ipsa loquitur requires three things: The accident would not have occurred unless someone was negligent. The thing causing the accident was under the exclusive control of Otis. Giles did not contribute to the harm via her own negligence. Otis unsuccessfully argued that the last two requirements were not met. The accident involved the sway of the elevator chain, which is affected by how the elevator is operated. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed. The Connecticut Supreme Court felt that just because a person uses the instrumentality of harm (the elevator), that doesn't automatically preclude a finding of res ipsa loquitur.