§ 181 — Liability for damage to property in transit

§ 181. Liability for damage to property in transit. Every common\ncarrier of property by motor vehicle shall, upon demand, issue either a\nreceipt or a bill of lading for all property delivered to it for\ntransportation. No contract, stipulation or clause in any receipt or\nbill of lading shall exempt any common carrier of property by motor\nvehicle from any liability for loss, damage or injury caused by it to\nproperty from the time of its delivery for transportation until the same\nshall have been received at its destination and a reasonable time shall\nhave elapsed after notice to the consignee of such arrival to permit the\nremoval of such property and inspection; provided, however, that when\nexpressly authorized or required by order of the commissioner a carrier\nmay establish and maintain rates dependent upon the value declared in\nwriting by the shipper or agreed upon in writing as the released value\nof the property, in which case such declaration or agreement shall have\nno other effect than to limit liability and recovery to an amount not\nexceeding the value so declared or released and shall not, so far as\nrelates to values, be held to violate this article. Every common carrier\nof property by motor vehicle shall be liable for all loss, damage or\ninjury to property caused by delay in transit due to negligence while\nthe same is being carried by it, but in any action to recover for\ndamages sustained by delay in transit the burden of proof shall be upon\nthe defendant to show that such delay was not due to negligence. Nothing\nin this section shall deprive any holder of such receipt or bill of\nlading of any remedy or right of action which such holder has under\nexisting law.\n