last clear chance

last clear chance
last clear chance n: a doctrine in the law of negligence: the contributory negligence of a plaintiff in putting himself or herself in peril will not bar recovery from a defendant who could have avoided injuring or killing the plaintiff by the use of ordinary care – called also discovered peril;

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

last clear chance
n.
A doctrine that allows a plaintiff to recover from a defendant if the defendant had the last clear chance or opportunity to avoid the accident, regardless of the plaintiff’s own negligence.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


last clear chance
A rule, most commonly applied to auto accidents, providing that the negligence of a party suing for damages for an accident is irrelevant if the party being sued could have avoided the accident by reasonable care in the final moments before the accident. Example: a driver drifts over the center line, and an oncoming driver notes the drifting but proceeds without taking simple evasive action and crashes into the first driver. The oncoming driver may be liable for the injuries to the first driver who was over the line.
Category: Accidents & Injuries
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


last clear chance
In the law of torts (See tort law), the doctrine that excuses or negates the effect of the plaintiff's contributory negligence and permits him or her to recover, in particular instances, damages regardless of his or her own lack of ordinary care.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


last clear chance
In the law of torts, the doctrine that excuses or negates the effect of the plaintiff's contributory negligence and permits him or her to recover, in particular instances, damages regardless of his or her own lack of ordinary care.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

last clear chance
n.
   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.

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Last clear chance — Tort law Part of the …   Wikipedia

  • last clear chance — The doctrine that the negligence of the plaintiff does not preclude a recovery for the negligence of the defendant where it appears that the defendant by exercising reasonable care and prudence might have avoided injurious consequences to the… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • last clear chance doctrine — n. The doctrine that a plaintiff who committed contributory acts of negligence may nonetheless recover damages against a defendant who had the last opportunity in time to avoid the damage. Very limited applicability in most states. Webster s New… …   Law dictionary

  • last clear chance doctrine — This doctrine permits a plaintiff in a negligence action to recover, notwithstanding his own negligence, on a showing that the defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. Jarrett v. Madifari, 67 A.D.2d 396, 415 N.Y.S.2d 644, 649.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • last clear chance doctrine — This doctrine permits a plaintiff in a negligence action to recover, notwithstanding his own negligence, on a showing that the defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. Jarrett v. Madifari, 67 A.D.2d 396, 415 N.Y.S.2d 644, 649.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • last clear chance — noun : a doctrine in English and American law of negligence: contributory negligence of the plaintiff will not bar his action if the defendant had a clear chance of avoiding inflicting injury had he exercised due care …   Useful english dictionary

  • clear chance — A clear chance to avoid accident within meaning of last clear chance doctrine involves the element of sufficient time to appreciate peril of the party unable to extricate himself therefrom, and to take necessary steps to avoid injuring him.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • clear chance — A clear chance to avoid accident within meaning of last clear chance doctrine involves the element of sufficient time to appreciate peril of the party unable to extricate himself therefrom, and to take necessary steps to avoid injuring him.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Last Chance — may refer to: Last Chance (Mars), a rock outcrop on the planet Mars Last Chance (Ginuwine song) Last Chance , a song by Level 42 from The Pursuit of Accidents Last Chance , a song by Maroon 5 from Hands All Over Last Chance , a song by Moke from… …   Wikipedia

  • clear — adj 1: unencumbered by outstanding claims or interests a search showed the title was clear 2: free from doubt or ambiguity Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

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