Conroy v. Maxwell, 248 Mass. 92, 96. McCarthy v. Isenberg Bros. Inc. 321 Mass. 170, 172. Stedfast v. Rebon Realty Co. Inc. 333 Mass. 348, 350. The burden is on the plaintiff to show that her injury was the result of a change in the condition of the premises which in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence the defendant should have discovered long enough before the accident to have repaired or remedied it. Furber v. Rodney, 331 Mass. 16, 18-19. We think that the evidence in the case at bar as we have recited it was amply sufficient to sustain such burden.
The tenant may rely upon the appearance of safety when he enters into the lease. Draper v. Cotting, 231 Mass. 51, 60. The rule with respect to common passageways, often applied in cases involving defective elevator gates, Mikkanen v. Safety Fund Natl. Bank, 222 Mass. 150, 153, Story v. Lyon Realty Corp. 308 Mass. 66, 70-71, Brown v. A.W. Perry Co. 325 Mass. 479, McAvey v. Albany Realty Co. 328 Mass. 310, 314, Furber v. Rodney, 331 Mass. 16, Lee v. Jerome Realty, Inc. 338 Mass. 150, see Jones v. Wood, 330 Mass. 502, 505, or other defects in an elevator apparatus which are readily observable, Freeman v. Hunnewell, 163 Mass. 210, Cushing v. Jolles, 292 Mass. 72, 76-77, does not, however, apply to hidden defects within the mechanism of the elevator not readily observable by the tenant. Cleary v. Cavanaugh, 219 Mass. 281. Ogden v. Aspinwall, 220 Mass. 100. Draper v. Cotting, 231 Mass. 51, 58.
The defendant was obligated to use reasonable care to keep the elevator in the same condition it was in, or appeared to be in, at the inception of the plaintiff's tenancy. Story v. Lyon Realty Corp. 308 Mass. 66, 69. Brown v. A.W. Perry Co. 325 Mass. 479, 481. Furber v. Rodney, 331 Mass. 16, 18. Lee v. Jerome Realty, Inc. 338 Mass. 150, 152. The fact that the elevator was defective at the time of the accident, without more, is not evidence of the defendant's negligence.