i would like to add my opinion here as not much has really been said on the negative aspect of this situation, and its a problem we have in a lot of tournaments.
my example is purely hypothetical, just an argument i use for people who like to assist the players by making every effort to retrieve mucked cards. As a given most TD's feel that the player who had his hand mucked incorrectly has our sympathy and would try to retrieve his cards provided he can identify them. while i can agree with the sentiment i can never seem to bring my self to actually give these cards back to the player. the rule clearly states that players are responsible for their own cards and as such should suffer the consequences. otherwise the begin to use the TD as a crutch and become even more careless with the cards.
so my example:
As a TD you have been watching the play of one player, i assume you have a previous relationship with the player as a regular in the tourney, he has begun to show you his hands. you see him push all in with 2 black queens and the dealer mucks his cards. you rule that the hand is retrievable and give him his cards back. you saw them and you are the authority, fair enough.
I am a new player in the club, i have experience and im fairly knowledgeable of the rules. iv been playing in your game and watching you laugh and joke, particularly with 1 player on my table, i get short stacked and raise with jacks, your friend shoves, he's a little careless with his cards and they end up in the muck.
how does it look to this player when the TD whips out 1 of the only 3 hands im scared of and declares them live. even tho the rules state otherwise. is he going to feel robbed or cheated here? Are you giving those cards back because he's your friend? are you both in on a scam?
I know my self as a TD that you believe the right thing is being done and the accidental muck is the dealers fault so he should get the hand back, but i also believe we never really know how our customers think, do we want to put ourselves in a position where people can accuse us of cheating even tho its false.
this is why i'll never get those cards from the muck. i apologise and sympathise, but at the end of the day, like pokerfish said, I've never had a hand mucked by a dealer.
also as an aside, i think the actual description of the rule should be adjusted, the word protected is a little vague in this context. i.e is my hand protected with a chip, or do i have to keep hold of my cards?