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Understanding Quasi Offenses in Law

This document discusses criminal negligence under Philippine law. It defines negligence as the failure to foresee impending injury or use ordinary care. There are three classes of crimes: intentional/malicious crimes, crimes mala prohibita, and crimes of criminal negligence. Criminal negligence can be reckless or simple, depending on if the danger was visible and consciously appreciated. Defenses allowed for criminal negligence include last clear chance if the victim was also negligent, emergency rule if the accused had to act immediately to avoid danger, and contributory negligence may mitigate civil liability but not avoid criminal liability. Abandoning victims of a vehicular accident increases the penalty unless it was to report the incident or summon help.

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157 views2 pages

Understanding Quasi Offenses in Law

This document discusses criminal negligence under Philippine law. It defines negligence as the failure to foresee impending injury or use ordinary care. There are three classes of crimes: intentional/malicious crimes, crimes mala prohibita, and crimes of criminal negligence. Criminal negligence can be reckless or simple, depending on if the danger was visible and consciously appreciated. Defenses allowed for criminal negligence include last clear chance if the victim was also negligent, emergency rule if the accused had to act immediately to avoid danger, and contributory negligence may mitigate civil liability but not avoid criminal liability. Abandoning victims of a vehicular accident increases the penalty unless it was to report the incident or summon help.

Uploaded by

Ali B
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© © All Rights Reserved
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QUASI OFFENSES

Criminal Negligence
I. Introduction: Negligence may either be criminal or not.
Non criminal negligence may either be contractual or
quasi-delictual. Criminal Negligence is the third among the
three classes of crimes, the two others being intentional or
malicious crimes and the other being crimes mala
prohibita.
II. Negligence is deficiency of perception or lack of
foresight: the failure to foresee impending injury,
thoughtlessness, failure to use ordinary care. Whereas,
imprudence is deficiency of action in avoiding an injury
due to lack of skill. Both result to a culpable felony.
III. Reckless: If the danger to another is visible and
consciously appreciated by the accused. It is simple if the
injury is not immediate or openly visible.
IV. Principles:
A. The degree of diligence required by law varies with the nature of the situation in which a person is
placed.
B. Negligence maybe presumed if at the time the accident occurred, the accused was violating a
regulation the purpose of which was to prevent the accident.

C. There is no conspiracy in culpable felonies.


D. As to the penalties:
1. The penalty as provided under article 356 depends on whether the negligence/imprudence is
reckless or simple and it generally applies to all situations of culpable felonies, unless there is a
specific penalty provided in certain crimes. Example: culpable malversation, evasion through
negligence.
[Link] principle of complex crimes apply if several grave or less graves crimes result

V-. Defenses Allowed:


A. If both the victim and the accused were negligent, the accused may be held liable under the
Doctrine of Last Clear Chance i.e it was he who had the sufficient opportunity to avoid the accident
after noticing the danger
B. Emergency Rule: due to the negligence of another, the accused was placed in an emergency and
compelled to act immediately to avoid an impending danger, and in so doing he injured another, even
if his choice of action was not the wisest under circumstances. This is similar to the exempting
circumstance of accident.
C. The defense of contributory negligent does not apply in criminal cases committed through
reckless imprudence, since one cannot allege the negligence of another to evade the effects of his
own negligence ( Manzanares s. PP, 504 SCRA 354)
D. Contributory negligence on the part of the victim merely mitigates the civil liability of the accused.

VI. If, in a vehicular accident, the accused abandons the


victims, this act will result to the imposition of a penalty
one degree higher. Except in the following instances:
a). if he leaves because he is in imminent danger of being harmed
b). he leaves to report to the police
c). or to summon a physician, nurse or doctor.

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