Under this doctrine, a negligent plaintiff can nonetheless recover if he is able to show that the defendant had the last opportunity to avoid the accident.
Though the stated rationale has differed depending on the jurisdiction adopting the doctrine, the underlying idea is to mitigate the harshness of the contributory negligence rule.
If the plaintiff has the last clear chance to avoid the accident, the defendant will not be liable.
The introduction of the doctrine is widely attributed to the English case of Davies v. Mann, 152 Eng.
A plaintiff who, by the exercise of reasonable vigilance, could discover the danger created by the defendant's negligence in time to avoid the harm to him, can recover if, but only if, the defendant