Case Summary (G.R. No. 95582)
Procedural History
Respondents filed a complaint for damages citing reckless driving and delayed medical treatment. The trial court found Cudiamat negligent for boarding a moving bus and awarded his heirs ₱10,000. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed, held petitioners negligent as common carriers, and awarded ₱30,000 death indemnity, ₱20,000 moral damages, ₱288,000 actual damages, plus costs. Petitioners then elevated the case to the Supreme Court.
Issue on Negligence
The central issue is whether petitioners breached their duty of extraordinary diligence as common carriers and whether Cudiamat’s own negligence was the proximate cause of his death.
Trial Court’s Findings
The trial court concluded that Cudiamat negligently attempted to board a moving bus without signaling, while the door remained open. It recognized some lack of diligence on petitioners’ part but ultimately held the victim primarily at fault. In equity, it granted minimal damages to the heirs.
Court of Appeals’ Findings
The appellate court, relying on eyewitness testimony, found that the bus was at a full stop when Cudiamat signaled his intention to board. It held that sudden acceleration by the driver breached the carrier’s duty to afford safe boarding. It also deemed the delay in procuring medical assistance as evidence of callous indifference, warranting a substantial award.
Supreme Court’s Review and Rationale
Given the conflicting findings on negligence, the Supreme Court reexamined the evidence. Testimony confirmed that the bus stopped to let another passenger alight, that Cudiamat signaled and closed his umbrella, and that the bus then jerked forward, causing him to fall under its rear tires. Under these circumstances, it was unreasonable to impute negligence to Cudiamat. The carrier’s premature acceleration violated its obligation to exercise extraordinary diligence under Civil Code Article 1733.
Liability of Common Carriers
A common carrier must stop long enough to permit safe boarding and must not increase passenger peril by sudden movements. Even if the vehicle is in slow motion, boarding passengers are entitled to full protection. Failure to observe this duty establishes carrier liability without the need for express proof of negligence, shifting to the carrier the burden of showing extraordinary diligence (Civil Code Articles 1733, 1755).
Delay in Medical Treatment
The driver’s decision to proceed to deliver other passengers and cargo before taking the mortally injured victim to a hospital constituted further negligent indifference. The Court of Appeals rightly characterized the excuse of waiting for the victim’s wife as deplorable. Such conduct exacerbated the carrier’s liability.
Computation of Actual Dam
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 95582)
Procedural History
- Private respondents (heirs of Pedrito Cudiamat) filed Civil Case No. 584-R in the RTC of Baguio City on May 13, 1985, seeking damages for the death of Pedrito Cudiamat in a bus accident on March 25, 1985.
- Petitioners answered with a counterclaim, alleging extraordinary diligence in operation and attributing the accident to the victim’s own negligence.
- On July 29, 1988, the RTC ruled in favor of petitioners, finding the victim negligent but awarding P10,000 to his heirs.
- Private respondents appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. CV No. 19504); on August 14, 1990, the CA set aside the RTC decision and ordered petitioners to pay P30,000 indemnity, P20,000 moral damages, P288,000 actual damages, and costs.
- Petitioners’ motion for reconsideration was denied by the Court of Appeals on October 4, 1990.
- Petitioners elevated the case to the Supreme Court via petition for review on certiorari, contending that the CA erred in finding them negligent and in the damages awarded.
Facts of the Case
- On March 25, 1985, at Marivic, Sapid, Mankayan, Benguet, a passenger bus owned by Dangwa Transportation Co., Inc. and driven by Theodore Lardizabal struck and fatally injured Pedrito Cudiamat.
- Testimony established that the bus had stopped between bunkhouses 53 and 54, a passenger alighted, and the victim attempted to board without mishap initially.
- As the victim was closing his umbrella on the bus platform, the bus made a sudden jerk forward, causing him to fall and be run over by the rear right wheels.
- After the accident, instead of proceeding immediately to Lepanto Hospital, the bus driver and conductor continued to Bunkhouse 70 to deliver other passengers and cargo, delaying medical aid.
- The victim expired at Lepanto Hospital; his heirs sued for damages.
Trial Court Findings
- The RTC found Pedrito Cudiamat negligent for attempting to board a moving vehicle without signaling and holding an umbrella.
- The RTC assumed the bus door was open and the vehicle was in motion when the victim attempted to board.
- Despite victim’s negligence, the RTC applied equity and awarded P10,0