Case Digest (G.R. No. 223768) Core Legal Reasoning Model
Core Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
In M. H. Rakes vs. The Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company (7 Phil. 359, G.R. No. 1719, January 23, 1907), the plaintiff Rakes, one of eight African‐American laborers employed by the defendant, was tasked with transporting heavy iron rails (each weighing 560 pounds) from a barge in Manila Harbor to the company’s yard near the Malecon. Two hand cars, without side guards, carried piled rails whose ends overhung both front and rear. Workers positioned themselves at the sides—and, according to the defendant, also at the front with a rope—to move the cars. At a low spot near the water’s edge where the track rested on wooden blocks or piling, recent typhoon waters had dislodged a support, causing the track to sag. Though a fellow laborer warned the foreman McKenna of the depression, no repair was made before Rakes resumed work. As the cars passed over the weakened section, one rail joint broke, the car upset, rails slid off, and Rakes’s leg was crushed and later amputated. The trial co Case Digest (G.R. No. 223768) Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
- Parties and Context
- Plaintiff-appellee M. H. Rakes, one of eight laborers hauling 560-lb. iron rails on hand cars for defendant-appellant Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Co. in Manila.
- Two cars carried seven rails each, projecting front and rear, on open crosspieces without side guards or fish plates.
- Accident and Track Condition
- Near the water’s edge, track sagged when a supporting crosspiece (or piling) was dislodged by typhoon-raised bay water; a tie broke.
- Rails slid off, crushing plaintiff’s leg; amputation followed. No immediate repair was done despite visible track depression and foreman notice by a co-worker.
Issues:
- Was the defendant negligent in constructing, maintaining, and inspecting the tramway so as to cause the accident?
- Did plaintiff’s own negligence—continuing work after noticing track depression and walking on ties—contribute to the injury, and if so, what is its effect on his recovery?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)