Duty to Rescue

Generally no duty to rescue absent special relationship or assumption of duty.

Representative cases

• Lips v. SCOTTSDALE HEALTHCARE CORP. 229 P.3d 1008 · Arizona Supreme Court
• Jose Barahona v. Eric Holder, Jr. 691 F.3d 349 · Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Coates v. Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. 731 A.2d 931 · Court of Appeals of Maryland

Related Negligence rules

• Negligence: DutyDuty requires defendant to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to avoid foreseeable risks of harm.
• Standard of Care: Reasonable PersonStandard is objective; mental impairments irrelevant; physical disabilities incorporated.
• Custom EvidenceCustom is relevant but not conclusive of reasonable care.
• Professionals StandardProfessionals must meet the skill and knowledge of the average practitioner in the community.
• Informed ConsentDoctors must disclose risks a reasonable patient would consider material.
• Negligence Per SeViolation of a safety statute establishes duty and breach if plaintiff is in protected class and risk matches…
• Special RelationshipsRelationships like carrier-passenger or innkeeper-guest create affirmative duties of protection.
• Negligent Infliction of Emotional DistressNIED requires physical danger, zone-of-danger exposure, or bystander presence with close relationship.

Part of Torts on Core Legal Rules — foundational MBE-tested principles with primary-source citations.