Great American Indemnity Co. v. District Court of Humacao
Great American Indemnity Co. v. District Court of Humacao
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
On petition of employer Garzot & Fuertes and its insurer the Great American Indemnity Co., we have issued a writ of certiorari against the District Court of Humaeao, to review the proceedings and judgment on a case prosecuted by the heirs of Andrés Astaeio to recover damages for the death of their father, occurred in consequence of an accident that he suffered during the course of his employment. Those heirs now request us to quash the writ issued.
The Industrial Commission, through two of its three members, denied the petition of the heirs of the workman on the ground that from the evidence introduced it did not appear that the death of Andrés Astaeio was thes result of an accident suffered in the course of his employment, nor that he nor any other person did notify his employer of the fact that he had suffered an accident in the course of his employment, until a few days after his death.
When the District Court of Humaeao heard this case on appeal, a right granted by law and taken advantage of by the heirs of the workman, it rendered judgment holding that the evidence that the Industrial Commission had before it was sufficient to prove that Andrés Astaeio died in consequence of an injury received while working for his employer Garzot & Fuertes, and that the workman was not obliged by law to notify the employer of the accident, whereupon it decreed that the employer or insurer should deposit in court the amount of $1,800 to be paid as damages to the heirs of said workman.
The petitioners do not allege any procedural error committed by the lower court, and as we are dealing in the in
Another of the grounds alleged by the petitioners of the writ of certiorari is that neither the employer nor the insurer had an opportunity to examine or investigate the accident, if it did take place, because the notificación to the employer was given after the workman had been buried. We may consider this question as it alleges that in the absence of said notification to the employer the court has no authority to award damages to the heirs of the workman.
The lower court does not state in its judgment whether notice was or was not given to the employer.
There is no provision in our Workmen’s Compensation Act that imposes the duty on the workman to notify his employer, and that upon failure to do so, that he will lose his right to any damages that may correspond to him. Perhaps such a duty should exist as a provision of law, as it has been declared by the legislatures of many states, thus obviating that notice of an accident will arrive to the employer sometime after the death of the employee, thus subjecting the em
The petitioners further allege that the conduct of the district court deprives them of their property without due process of law, inasmuch as neither the amount of damages nor the possibilities of life of the workman were discussed before the Industrial Commission. However, the facts necessary to assess the damages appear from the record of the commission to such an extent that in the dissenting opinion the amount of damages is assessed, which amount was somewhat larger than that granted by the court, But, besides what we have stated, we have already decided in the case of Robles v. District Court, 43 P.R.R. 266, supra, that the error of the district court in assessing the damages, if any, is not' one of procedure or jurisdiction that will justify a writ of certiorari against said court.
In consequence of what has been stated we must quash the writ of certiorari issued in this case.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.