GR 44753; (August, 1936) (Digest)
G.R. No. 44753; August 26, 1936
ADORACION FRANCISCO, ET AL., plaintiffs-appellees, vs. FELICIANO CONSING, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The legal heirs of the deceased laborer Antonio Francisco filed a claim under the Workmen’s Compensation Act (Act No. 3428, as amended). The deceased was employed by Feliciano Consing, a sugar cane farmer, to load and unload sugar cane seedling points (“puntas“) to and from a truck, at a wage of P3.60 a week. On August 2, 1930, while riding on the loaded truck, the deceased jumped off to avoid a collision with a carabao that suddenly appeared on the road. The truck fell on him, causing fatal injuries. The parties submitted an agreed statement of facts, including the deceased’s ante-mortem affidavit stating he believed the accident was his fault for jumping. The trial court awarded compensation to the plaintiffs.
ISSUE
Whether the deceased, a laborer loading and unloading sugar cane points from a truck, is considered a farm laborer excluded from the benefits of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, or an employee engaged in the “operation of mechanical implements” entitled to its benefits.
RULING
The deceased is entitled to compensation. The Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. Under Section 39(d) of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, “industrial employment” excludes agricultural work except for “employees for the operation of mechanical implements.” The deceased, though not the truck driver, was engaged in loading and unloading the truck, which is work necessarily connected to the operation of a motor vehicle—a mechanical implement. Following persuasive jurisprudence from Louisiana (which has a similar statute), an employee whose duties involve frequent contact with and riding on motor trucks, even if not operating them, is covered by the compensation law. The Act must be construed liberally in favor of employees, and doubts resolved in their favor. The accident was not due to any excluded cause like voluntary injury, drunkenness, or notorious negligence.
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