Volenti non fit injuria
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Volenti non fit injuria (Latin: "to a willing person, no injury is done") is a common law doctrine which means that someone who knowingly and willingly puts themselves in a dangerous situation will be unable to sue for his or her resulting injuries. It is sometimes described as the plaintiff "consenting to run a risk" but should be distinguished from consent which can prevent some torts arising in the first place (for example, consent to a medical procedure preventing the procedure being a trespass to the person, or consenting to a person visiting your land preventing them being a trespasser).
For example, rugby and football players consent to the incidental contact that arise from the normal conduct of those sports, including the attendant risk of physical injury. However, if a player goes outside the usual conduct of the sport, or a match official is negligent in letting play get out of control, then a claim may arise. It may be said that the standard of care in such cases has been altered, to increase the threshold of carelessness necessary to found a claim
In some cases, volenti overlaps with the contributory negligence, which can reduce the defendant's legal responsibility to take account of the culpabity of the plaintiff.
See also
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