Supreme Court upholds KLM as liable for doctors’ luggage lost 23 years ago

[ASEAN NOW News]

Supreme Court façade (File photo)

 

MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a Davao court verdict against KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in a suit filed by a prominent physician over delayed luggage in 1998.

 

In a recent decision penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the high court, however, ruled to award only PHP350,000 in damages plus attorney’s fees and interest to Dr. Jose M. Tiongco. The original amount awarded by the Davao Regional Trial Court (RTC) was PHP3.6 million.

 

Tiongco, a prominent surgeon and one of the founders of the Medical Mission Group Hospital and Health Services in Davao City, was invited in October 1998 by the United Nations-World Health Organization (UN-WHO) to be a keynote speaker in Almaty, Kazakhstan in November of that year.

 

In the absence of a direct flight from Manila to Kazakhstan, Tiongco had to take a Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore where he took connecting flights of his main carrier KLM to Amsterdam and Frankfurt and then to Almaty.

 

The flight departed from Amsterdam 45 minutes late and as a result, he missed his fourth flight from Frankfurt to Almaty. Informed of his predicament, Tiongco was then booked by KLM to fly to Istanbul onboard Lufthansa and from there to his final destination in Almaty.

 

As a result of the change in schedule, Tiongco was left with no choice but to board the flight to Almaty without his luggage.

 

Upon arrival in the hotel where the UN-WHO convention would be held, Tiongco took a shower and changed into a pair of slacks and a sweatshirt.

 

He went downstairs where the conference would be held.

 

Initially, however, Tiongco was not allowed entry into the venue because of his inappropriate attire.

Tiongco explained to the organizers that his suitcase containing his clothes and important materials for his speech got lost during his flight.

 

It was only then that he was allowed inside the venue. Tiongco then delivered his lecture without any of his visual aids and despite being inappropriately attired.

 

When he finished his speech, some of the attendees approached him and asked for his resource materials. However, he was unable to give them the materials since they were also in his missing suitcase.

 

Three months after Tiongco returned to the Philippines, there was still no news about the whereabouts of his luggage and in March 1999, he wrote the three airlines for compensation.

 

The airlines said their liability was limited to USD20 per kilo under international air travel rules.

 

 

In its ruling, the Davao RTC said KLM is solely liable for the damages on account of the lost suitcase and that it failed to exercise extraordinary care in handling it.

 

It noted that being the airline that issued the tickets, KLM is the principal in the contract and liable for acts and omissions of the other airlines to which it endorsed the other legs of the flight.

 

The court said the airline "displayed indifference to the plight and inconvenience suffered by Tiongco" and "made empty promises that his luggage would be traveling with him and even failed to inform Tiongco that his suitcase had been found."

 

"Moreover, it did not return the luggage to him even after it was found," the court said. (PNA)

 

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