Solutions To Personal Injury Cases

What Are The Remedies in Personal Injury Cases?


There are two types of remedies available to victims of personal injury: (1) preventive remedies; and (2) compensatory remedies.

Preventive remedies include the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction. The Philippine Rules of Court define said injunction as an order granted at any stage of an action or proceeding prior to the judgment or final order, requiring a party or a court, agency or a person to refrain from a particular acts or acts. It may also require the performance of a particular act or acts, in which case it shall be known as preliminary mandatory injunction. Further, a temporary restraining order is also another preventive remedy provided by the rules. Such an order is issued in cases of great or irreparable injury or a matter of extreme urgency. It may be effective for a period of twenty (20) days from service on the person sought to be enjoined; or a period of seventy-two (72) hours from issuance of the order, as the case may be.

On the other hand, compensatory remedies include an action for damages filed in court. This directly addresses the primary purpose of personal injury cases, that is, to provide compensation to the victims. However, such may be too costly especially in cases where the injury involved is minimal.
Alternative Schemes on Personal Injury Cases
With this, the Philippine Legislature incorporated in the laws some alternative compensation schemes on personal injury cases. Atty. Timoteo Aquino in his book, Torts and Damages, 2001 edition, enumerates such alternative schemes:

1. Insurance. The Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance under the Insurance Code of the Philippines provides:
   
   xxx any claim not exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000) for death or injury to any passenger or third party shall be paid without the necessity of proving fault or negligence of any kind.

2. Labor Code. In the case of De Jesus v. Employees Compensation, the Philippine Supreme Court explained the new scheme of employees compensation as follows:
   
   The new law establishes a state insurance fund built up by the contributions of employers based on the salaries of their employees. The injured worker does not have to litigate his right to compensation. No employer opposes his claim. There is no notice of injury or requirement of controversy. The sick worker simply files a claim with a new neutral Employees’ Compensation Commission which then determines on the basis of the employee’s supporting papers and medical evidence whether or not of the employee’s supporting papers and medical evidence whether or not compensation may be paid. The payment of benefits is more prompt. The cost of administration is low. The amount of death benefits has also been doubled.

Nevertheless, recovery cannot be made from said Employees Compensation Commission if the victim or his heirs already made a recovery under the provisions of the New Civil Code.

Indeed, Philippine Laws provide numerous remedies for personal injury cases. The only matter left to do is to ensure effective enforcement on the part of the government with these personal injury cases.