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Legal Ruling on Bus Accident Damages

A medical student named Cariaga was injured when the bus he was riding collided with a moving train. He sued the bus company and railroad for damages. The trial court found the bus company liable and awarded compensatory damages. On appeal, the court increased the compensatory damages to $25,000 but denied claims for moral damages and attorney fees. The court found that moral damages did not apply under the civil code and that attorney fees were not allowed in cases arising from breach of contract of carriage like this one.

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100 views5 pages

Legal Ruling on Bus Accident Damages

A medical student named Cariaga was injured when the bus he was riding collided with a moving train. He sued the bus company and railroad for damages. The trial court found the bus company liable and awarded compensatory damages. On appeal, the court increased the compensatory damages to $25,000 but denied claims for moral damages and attorney fees. The court found that moral damages did not apply under the civil code and that attorney fees were not allowed in cases arising from breach of contract of carriage like this one.

Uploaded by

Tea Ann
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CARIAGA, ET AL. vs.

LAGUNA TAYABAS BUS COMPANY


G.R. No. L-11037
December 29, 1960
Facts:

Cariaga, a medical student, was on board the LTB bus bound to Laguna.
Upon reaching the train crossing, it bumped the engine of the moving
train of the MRR. He was hospitalized for his serious injuries which
reduced his intelligence and made him incapable of finishing his studies.

He sued the LTB and MRR for actual, compensatory, exemplary, moral
damages and attorney’s fees. The trial court held LTB liable for
compensatory damages.
Issues:
1) Whether the award of P10,000 as compensatory damages was adequate.
2) Whether the award of moral damages and attorney’s fees is proper.

Ruling 1: No. His injuries reduced his intelligence by 50% and that due to the
replacement of the right frontal bone of his head. It is sufficient to justify the
assumption that he could have passed the board test in due time. As regards
the income that he could possibly earn as a medical practitioner, it appears
that, according to Dr. Amado Doria, a witness for the LTB, the amount of
P300.00 could easily be expected as the minimum monthly income of Edgardo
had he finished his studies.

The compensatory damages awarded to Edgardo Cariaga should be increased


to P25,000.00.
Ruling: No. The award of moral damages and attorney’s fees is improper.

A.As for the moral damages – Article 2219 of the Civil Code enumerates
the instances when moral damages may be covered and the case under
consideration does not fall under any one of them. The present action
cannot come under paragraph 2 of said article because it is not one of the
quasi-delict and cannot be considered as such because of the pre-existing
contractual relation between the Laguna Tayabas Bus Company and
Edgardo Cariaga.
B. As for the attorney’s fees – this case does not fall under any of the
instances enumerated in Article 2208. Damages arising from a breach of
contract of carriage, like in this case, cannot give rise to moral
damages.The present complaint is not based either on a "quasi-delict
causing physical injuries".

The claim made by said spouses for actual and compensatory damages is
likewise without merits. The present action is based upon a breach of
contract of carriage to which said spouses were not a party, and neither
can they premise their claim upon the negligence or quasi-delict of the
LTB for the simple reason that they were not themselves injured.

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