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danger invites rescue

If a person intervenes to protect another person or a pet from injury by a dog, and the intervenor is injured, the owner of the dog will be held responsible for the injury, under the legal principle called the "rescue doctrine."



A person has negligently managed his own person, he is liable for the foreseeable consequences. One such foreseeable consequence is injury to a rescuer. In other words, where an person puts himself or others in danger, it is foreseeable that someone else will attempt to rescue those placed in danger. It has been noted that, "Danger invites rescue." (Justice Cardozo in Wagner v. International Ry. Co. (1921)



Therefore, the responsibility for injury or death still lies in the person or entity that created the dangerous situation and not on the rescuer.

Source : LawyerIntl.com

Language : English

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