Virginia Code 8.7-309: Duty of care; contractual limitation of carrier’s liability
(1) A carrier who issues a bill of lading, whether negotiable or nonnegotiable, must exercise the degree of care in relation to the goods that a reasonably careful man would exercise under like circumstances. This subsection does not repeal or change any law or rule of law that imposes liability upon a common carrier for damages not caused by its negligence.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.7-309
- Carrier: means a person that issues a bill of lading. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Consignor: means the person named in a bill as the person from whom the goods have been received for shipment. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Document: means document of title as defined in the general definitions in Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract of storage or transportation. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
(2) Damages may be limited by a provision that the carrier’s liability shall not exceed a value stated in the document if the carrier’s rates are dependent upon value and the consignor is afforded an opportunity to declare a higher value and he is otherwise advised of such opportunity. However, no such limitation is effective with respect to the carrier’s liability for conversion to his own use.
(3) Reasonable provisions as to the time and manner of presenting claims and instituting actions based on the shipment may be included in a bill of lading or a transportation agreement.
1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.