Legal Definitions - last-opportunity doctrine

The last-opportunity 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 chance to prevent the harm but failed to do so.

For example, if a pedestrian was jaywalking and was hit by a car, but the driver had the opportunity to avoid hitting the pedestrian but failed to do so, the pedestrian may still be able to recover damages from the driver.

This doctrine is used in some jurisdictions where contributory negligence completely bars recovery. It allows the plaintiff to rebut the defense of contributory negligence if the defendant's negligence is later in time than the plaintiff's.

Other terms for the last-opportunity doctrine include discovered-peril doctrine, humanitarian doctrine, last-clear-chance doctrine, subsequent-negligence doctrine, and supervening-negligence doctrine.