Legal Definitions - last-clear-chance doctrine

The last-clear-chance doctrine is a legal rule in tort law that allows a plaintiff who was partially at fault for an accident to still recover damages from the defendant if the defendant had the last opportunity to prevent the harm but failed to do so.

For example, imagine that a pedestrian is jaywalking across a busy street and is hit by a car. The pedestrian is partially at fault for not using a crosswalk, but the driver of the car also had a chance to avoid hitting the pedestrian but failed to do so. In this case, the last-clear-chance doctrine may allow the pedestrian to recover damages from the driver.

This doctrine is used in some jurisdictions to overcome the defense of contributory negligence, which completely bars recovery if the plaintiff is found to be even slightly at fault for the accident.