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BETHEL v. NYC TR. AUTH.
Court of Appeals of the State of New York (1998) | 92 N.Y.2d 348; 703 N.E.2d 1214; 681 N.Y.S.2d 201
TL;DR: A passenger was injured when a bus seat collapsed. New York's highest court abandoned the long-standing rule requiring common carriers to exercise the "highest degree of care," holding them instead to the general negligence standard of "reasonable care under the circumstances."
Legal Significance: This case abolished the special, elevated standard of care for common carriers in New York, aligning their duty with the modern, unitary negligence standard of reasonable care under the circumstances and overruling a century-old legal doctrine.