United States v. Lawter
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
219 F.2d 559 (1955)
Loretta Lawter and three family members were cast into open water off Miami after their small boat sank in Biscayne Bay, with no other boats nearby to help. A Coast Guard (defendant) helicopter spotted them during a routine patrol and undertook a rescue, but, contrary to standard procedure, an inexperienced Coast Guard officer lowered a cable to Loretta and lifted her without first securing it to her body. Loretta gripped the cable as she was hoisted, but lost her grip near the helicopter and fell to her death. Her husband, Oren Lawter (plaintiff), sued the Coast Guard for wrongful death, and the district court found the Coast Guard owed Loretta a duty of reasonable care once it undertook the rescue, awarding $10,000 in damages.
Whether one who affirmatively undertakes to rescue another from peril must do so in a safe and reasonable manner so that the rescued person is not left in a worse position than when the rescue began.