rescue

1. Action to save people or property from danger. There is no general duty to rescue people or property from danger, though a master of a ship is bound by statute to render assistance to people in danger at sea. Voluntary attempts to rescue people in danger are encouraged by the law. Someone injured in such a rescue attempt may recover damages from the person whose negligence created the danger. The rescuer is not regarded as having assumed the risk of being injured and courts are reluctant to find that his injuries were due to *contributory negligence. Attempts to rescue property may not be treated so sympathetically.
2. The forcible removal of a person in the custody of the law, which is a criminal offence.
3. The recovery of property that has been taken by way of *distress. If the distress was unlawful, the owner is entitled to recover it.