What is an onus of proof and who bears it in a professional negligence case?

• The onus of proof rests with the plaintiff who is required to prove a case of professional negligence. They have the onus of proving to the court that the relevant facts exist and that negligence has actually occurred.
• In professional negligence cases the plaintiff must convince the court that on the balance of probabilities negligence has occurred. This does not mean that the court must be completely convinced of each small detail but as a cumulative whole the evidence must indicate negligence.
• The court will consider all of the evidence and ask what series of events is more probable. If the evidence shows that the incident probably happened a particular way then they will make their decision accordingly.