Liability of the Carrier in Courtesy Carriage and Gratuitous Carriage

Abstract

In fact, this new trend in judicial thinking does not mean that the liability of the unpaid carrier is being based on fault in the custodianship of inanimate objects; its import and aim is to alleviate the burden of proof falling upon the non-paying passenger by seeking evidence of the fault of the carrier merely from the circumstances of the case. Proof of such circumstances must be provided: proof that the accident was caused by faulty driving, i.e., loss of command of the vehicle; or that the accident cannot be explained by other than the carrier's losing command of the vehicle while driving it.