What is a "Common Carrier" in Nevada?
Las Vegas is a popular destination for many tourists. People come from all over the country, and indeed the world, for various activities the city has to offer. Whether it is for a vacation, or a conference or another event hosted in the city, many of these individuals do not bring their private vehicles. That means that when coming to Las Vegas, as well as getting around to the city’s various venues, most people are using some form of “common carrier.”
A common carrier, in this context, is a legal term for businesses that hold themselves out as ready and willing to transport people from one place to another, either as part of a fixed, scheduled route, or on an on-call basis. This could include planes, buses, trains and even taxi companies. Some of these may be publicly operated, while others may be privately owned. What they have in common is that they are generally well-regulated by the federal and state governments.
This means that common carriers usually have to comply with many safety rules and regulations in order to operate legally. If one of these rules or regulations is broken, and people suffer injuries as a result, the company itself may be held liable for damages that occur. Further, even if a specific rule isn’t broken, a common carrier has a legal duty to act the way a reasonable operator would in caring for the safety of its passengers and could be responsible if someone in its employ acts negligently and injuries result.
Because many common carriers operate vehicles that carry many people at a time, the results of an accident involving one of these vehicles can be catastrophic. It is very important that those who run these kinds of businesses are held to the highest possible standard of safety to avoid any mass transportation injury situations.