Friday, February 22, 2008
Motorist sues PLDT after bike tangles with cable, crashes
A MOTORCYCLE-riding man who got snagged by a dangling telephone cable and crashed last year has filed a damage suit against Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) officials, accusing them of not helping defray his medical bills.
Wilby Tan, represented by lawyer Kit Enriquez, charged the company and its representatives with “gross negligence and failure and refusal to effect the immediate assistance to herein plaintiff” in the suit before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Civil Division.
Tan wants the court to “pronounce the fact that the respondents were negligent in their jobs (and) were malicious in totally disregarding the lawful demands of the plaintiff.”
He also wants the trial court to award damages of about P500,000.
Named as respondents in the complaint were Dionisio Vicente Pesayco, an area manager of the telecommunications giant, as well as the unnamed employees of PLDT’s Repairs and Transmission Section.
Tan, in his complaint, said his suffering began when he ran into a dangling PLDT cable while cruising along M. Velez St. on his motorbike last Aug. 21 at around 9:15 p.m.
The cable being referred to, as shown in the photographs he attached to the complaint, formed part of the wires located a few meters above one of the rails of the M. Velez bridge, which separates Barangay Capitol Site and Barangay Guadalupe.
Tan said he was cruising on normal speed when he got tangled. The cable forced him to crash into the pavement, resulting in “multiple injuries” on his body and damage to his vehicle.
He identified the cable as that owned by PLDT because it was attached to post 0135542, which he said is a telephone post.
He was brought to the Cebu City Medical Center and got treated for abrasions and bruises.
Later, he had himself checked into the Cebu Doctor’s University Hospital for magnetic resonance imaging and further treatment of his injuries.
He also had the incident reported to the Cebu City Traffic Group, a division of the Cebu City Police Office.
At the time of the filing of the complaint, Tan said, he is still receiving treatment for his injuries. His bill, he said in his complaint, has reached over P73,000 and rising.
The damage to his vehicle, on the other hand, has reached over P32,000.
According to the complaint, he has sent Pesayco letters but have not received any answer.
“Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same,” Tan’s complaint read, quoting provisions of Article 20 of the new Civil Code.
“Because of respondent’s lack of concern and disregard to plaintiff’s situation, moral damages in the amount of P200,000 should be imposed on the former as the latter suffered physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious injury and anxiety, moral shock, wounded feelings and other injuries,” he said. (KNR)
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