When I was taking business law in night school I came across the following case.

A family in Kansas goes out one night to a movie. While they are gone a burglar climbs up to the second story of the house and enters through a window. While going downstairs he trips on a piece of loose carpet. He tumbles down the stairs and breaks his leg. The family returns home and at the time the father could have legally killed the intruder. Instead he calls the police who arrest him and take him to a hospital. The burglar proceeds to sue the homeowner over the dangerous piece of loose carpet and the homeowner’s insurance company settles with him.