a rule of law in determining responsibility for damages caused by negligence, which
provides that if the plaintiff (the party suing for damages) is negligent, that
will not matter if the defendant (the party being sued for damages caused by his/her
negligence) could have still avoided the accident by reasonable care in the final
moments (no matter how slight) before the accident. The theory is that although
the plaintiff may have been negligent, his/her negligence no longer was the cause
of the accident because the defendant could have prevented the accident. Most commonly
applied to auto accidents, a typical case of last clear chance would be when one
driver drifts over the center line, and this action was noted by an oncoming driver
who proceeds without taking simple evasive action, crashes into the first driver
and is thus liable for the injuries to the first driver who was over the line. In
the few states which apply the strict "contributory negligence" rule which keeps
a negligent plaintiff from recovering damages from a negligent defendant, "last
clear chance" can save the careless plaintiff's lawsuit.
See also comparative negligence contributory negligence negligence
law dictionary, legal
dictionary, online law dictionary, legal terms dictionary,
online legal dictionary, legal definition, legal
terms and definition, Best online Dictionary, Law
Dictionary Software, Download Law Dictionary, law
dictionary, legal dictionary, online law dictionary,
legal terms dictionary, online legal dictionary,
legal definition, legal terms and definition, Best
online Dictionary, Law Dictionary Software, Download
Law Dictionary
