SC junks doctor’s P100-M lawsuit vs Makati hotel

By Jerome Aning Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, PhilippinesA woman-doctors 17-year demand for P100 million in damages from a Makati City hotel for a recurring brain injury she allegedly suffered through the years after she hit her head inside the hotel has ended after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed her claim for lack of merit.

The high courts Second Division threw out Dr. Genevieve Huangs appeal on the earlier rulings of the Court of Appeals and the Makati Regional Trial Court which both dismissed her claim for damages for lack of merit in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

This court examined the records, including the transcripts of stenographic notes, and found no reason to disturb the factual findings of both lower courts. This court, thus, upholds their conclusiveness, the high tribunal said in the decision penned by Justice Jose Perez.

Justices Arturo Brion, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Martin Villarama Jr. and Estela Perlas-Bernade concurred in the decision.

In August 1996, Huang filed a complaint for damages in the Makati Regional Trial Court against Dusit Thanis owners, Philippine Hoteliers Inc. and Dusit Thani Public Co. Ltd, as well as the hotels insurer, First Lepanto Taisho Insurance Corp.

Court records showed that in June 1995, Huang and a friend had just finished swimming at the hotel pool and were showering when the lights were switched off, plunging the area into darkness. She said they walked carefully to the main door leading out of the pool area but found the door locked.

While looking for a house phone in the dark, Huang spotted one behind the lifeguards counter. She said she was walking toward it when she hit her head on a wooden folding countertop, which almost knocked her unconscious.

Huangs friend called for assistance, and hotel staff brought Huang to the coffee shop.

After arriving home, Huang said she experienced extraordinary dizziness and stomach problems for two days, and had headaches for three days. She consulted a neurologist who detected bruising in her head using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and told her she had a very serious brain injury. Two other doctors she consulted came up with similar findings.

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SC junks doctor’s P100-M lawsuit vs Makati hotel