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(b) That's not correct. It is true that the common law does not impose a duty on people to go to the rescue of others. But it is also true that rescuers are owed a duty of care which allows them to recover damages if they are injured during the course of a rescue. The courts have held that, for the duty of care to arise, injury to the rescuer must be a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant's act or omission. This involves not only the reasonable foreseeability about the likelihood of rescue, but also reasonable foreseeability in relation to the likelihood of harm to the rescuer.

Haynes v G Harwood & Son [1935] 1 KB 146.

Chapman v Hearse (1961) 106 CLR 112.

Almost all states and territories now have legislation making rescuers themselves immune from any claim that their intervention in some way harmed the person they attempted to rescue. Where a policy of immunity has not been introduced by statute, a person who attempts a rescue will owe a duty of care to the person they assist and may be liable if they worsen the situation of the person they try to rescue.

Click here to see the legislation.