Bethel v. New York City Transit Authority
Court of Appeals of New York
703 N.E.2d 1214 (1998)
Relevant factsFree
Bethel (plaintiff) was injured when his seat collapsed on a bus operated by the New York City Transit Authority (defendant). At trial, Bethel argued the Transit Authority had constructive notice of the defect that an inspection would have caught; the trial court instructed the jury to judge the Transit Authority against a heightened, "highest degree of care" standard traditionally applied to common carriers. The jury found for Bethel, and the appellate division affirmed.
IssueFree
Whether a common carrier should be judged by the ordinary reasonable-person standard of care applicable to other negligence defendants, rather than a historically heightened standard.