Legal Definition and Related Resources of Last Chance, Last Clear Chance

A doctrine applied in the law of negligence , whereby a negligent plaintiff may recover from a negligent defendant by showing that the defendant by exercising reasonable prudence might have avoided injurious consequences to the plaintiff notwithstanding the plaintiffs negligence. Chunn v City & Suburban R. Co., 207 U.S. 302,28 S. Ct. 63,52 L.Ed. 219. The doctrine holds a person liable who has the last clear chance or opportunity of avoiding an accident , not withstanding the negligent acts of his opponent or of some third party whose negligence is imputed to the opponent. under this doctrine, a court will hold a negligent defendant liable to a negligent plaintiff if the defendant was aware of the plaintiffs peril or unaware of it only through lack of care had, in fact, i chance than the plaintiff to avoid the accident. See Mahoney v Corralejo, J: App.3d 966, 112 Cal.Rptr. 61. The purpose of the doctrine is to relieve an injured party from rigid application of the rule of contributory negligence in proper circumstances. See Philio v Lan Cal.Rptr. 900, 256 C.A.2d475.

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