Myline Cordial

Necesito, et. al. vs. Paras, et. al.
G.R. No. L-10605, June 30, 1958
104 Phil 75

FACTS:
Mother, Severina Garces and her son, Precillano Necesito boarded passenger auto truck of the Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines. On its way from Pangasinan to Manila, the bus entered a wooden bridge but the driver lost control because of the broken steering knuckle. The truck fell into the creek. The mother was drowned and the son was injured.

ISSUES:
1. Whether or not carrier is liable for damages caused by mechanical defect?
2. Whether or not the carrier has exercised the required extraordinary diligence in handling the passengers.

RULING:
1. Yes. A carrier is liable to its passengers caused by mechanical defects of the conveyance. The carrier, while it is not an insurer of the safety of the passengers, should nevertheless be held to answer for the flaws of its equipment if such flaws were at all discoverable. In this connection, the manufacturer will not relieve the carrier from liability. The rationale of the carrier’s liability is the fact that the passenger has no privity with the manufacturer of the defective equipment; hence, he has no remedy against him, while the carrier usually has.

2. No. The liability of the carrier depends on its negligence, his failure to exercise the “utmost” degree of diligence that the law requires, and by Art. 1756, in case of a passenger’s death or injury the carrier bears the burden of satisfying the court that he has duly discharged the duty of prudence required. In this case, the monthly visual inspection of the steering knuckle by the carrier did not measure up to the required legal standard of “utmost diligence of very cautious person.

DOCTRINE: Mechanical defects are not force majeure if the same were discoverable by regular and adequate inspections. The prevailing rule in this jursdiction is that the carrier is liable to its passengers for damages caused by mechanical defects of the conveyance. For the purposes of this doctrine, the manufacturer is considered the agent of the carrier.

Full text: Necesito vs. Paras G.R. No. L-10605, June 30, 1958