Altamuro v. Milner Hotel, Inc.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
540 F. Supp. 870 (1982)
Relevant factsFree
Altamuro died after re-entering a burning hotel a third time to rescue guests, disregarding firefighters' order for civilians to stay out, after having already twice successfully rescued people from upper floors; the fire started from a defective television the hotel knew about but left plugged in, and his wife sued the hotel (defendant) for wrongful death based on the rescue doctrine.
IssueFree
Whether, under the rescue doctrine, mistakes made while rescuing someone from imminent danger are considered negligent unless the rescue was so rash and imprudent that it was unreasonable.