Vda de Gabriel vs CA | November 14, 1996 | Vitug, J.
| chapter shall, without any unnecessary
Prescription of Action | by Jasper delay, present to the insurance company concerned a written notice of claim FACTS: setting forth the nature, extent and duration of the injuries sustained as ● Marcelino Gabriel was employed by Emerald certified by a duly licensed physician. Construction & Development Corporation ("ECDC") Notice of claim must be filed within six at its construction project in Iraq. months from date of the accident, ● Gabriel was covered by a personal accident insurance in the amount of P100,000.00 under a otherwise, the claim shall be deemed group policy procured from Fortune Insurance and waived. Action or suit for recovery of Surety Company by ECDC for its overseas workers. damage due to loss or injury must be ● The insured risk was for "bodily injury caused by brought, in proper cases, with the violent accidental external and visible means which Commissioner or the Courts within one injury (would) solely and independently of any year from denial of the claim, otherwise, other cause" result in death or disability. the claimant's right of action shall ● May 1982: within the life of the policy, Gabriel died prescribe. in Iraq. ○ The notice of death was given to Fortune ● July 1983: ECDC reported Gabriel's death to Fortune more than a year after the death of by telephone and after which it submitted a copy of petitioner's husband. Fortune, in invoking the death certificate which stated "Reason of prescription, was not referring to the one- Death: Under Examination Now - Not Yet Known"; year period from the denial of the claim and an autopsy report by the NBI- "due to advanced state of postmortem decomposition, cause of within which to file an action against an death (could) not be determined." insurer but obviously to the written ● September 1983: Fortune denied the claim on the notice of claim that had to be submitted ground of prescription within six months from the time of the ● Petitioner Jacqueline Jimenez vda. de Gabriel, the accident. surviving spouse and beneficiary, filed complaint ○ Vda de Gabriel argues that Fortune must with RTC Manila be deemed to have waived its right to ● Averred that her husband died of electrocution controvert the claim, that is, to show that while in the performance of his work and prayed for the cause of death is an excepted peril, by the recovery of P100,000.00 for insurance failing to have its answers (to the Request indemnification and of various other sums by way for Admission sent by petitioner) duly of actual, moral, and exemplary damages, plus verified. attorney's fees and costs of suit. ● Fortune's unverified answer alleged that since both ○ The verification, like in most cases the death certificate issued by the Iraqi Ministry of required by the rules of procedure, is a Health and the autopsy report of the NBI failed to formal, not jurisdictional, requirement, disclose the cause of Gabriel's death, it denied and mainly intended to secure an liability under the policy. Also raised the defense of assurance that matters which are alleged prescription, invoking Section 384 of the Insurance are done in good faith or are true and Code correct and not of mere speculation. ● RTC held Fortune has waived the defense regarding When circumstances warrant, the court the cause of Gabriel's death when it failed to may simply order the correction of impugn by evidence petitioner's averment on the unverified pleadings or act on it and matter, and that with regard to the defense of waive strict compliance with the rules in prescription, the court considered the complaint to order that the ends of justice may thereby have been timely filed or within one (1) year from be served. private respondent's denial of the claim. ● CA reversed and held that Vda. De Gabriel had ○ Evidence is utterly wanting to establish failed to substantiate her allegation that her that the insured suffered from an husband's death was caused by a risk insured accidental death, the risk covered by the against (only evidence was her affidavit and a letter policy. allegedly written by a co-worker of the deceased in ○ The insurance policy expressly provided Iraq - both were hearsay) that to be compensable, the injury or death should be caused by "violent ISSUES/RATIO: accidental external and visible means." ● W/N Fortune was within its rights to deny the claim ○ In attempting to prove the cause of her on the ground of prescription – NO husband's death, all that petitioner could ○ Sec. 384. Any person having any claim submit were a letter sent to her by her upon the policy issued pursuant to this husband's co-worker, stating that Gabriel died when he tried to haul water out of a tank while its submerged motor was still functioning, and petitioner's sinumpaang salaysay which merely confirmed the receipt and stated contents of the letter. ○ The affidavit suffers from procedural infirmity as it was not even testified to or identified by the affiant (plaintiff- appellant) herself. The letter allegedly written by Marcelino's co-worker suffers the same defect
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