Intentional injuries are injuries that occur with purposeful intent and include homicide, suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, bias related violence and firearms. Unintentional injuries are injuries that occur without purposeful intent, and are a leading cause of death and disability.
May a person be held liable for both intentional and unintentional injuries?
This is illustrated in a case decided by the Supreme Court wherein a ten (10) year old boy by the name of Kardo was roaming around the city down town when he decided to cross the road. Upon reaching the center, he failed to check whether there are vehicles coming from the other side of the road, as a consequence, he was bumped and hit by passenger bus driven by Dalisay.
When Dalisay noticed that Kardo was still moving, he decided to back track his bus thus caused the sudden death of Kardo.
Dalisay was held for trial and after exhaustive trial, the Court held that there is only one crime committed and that is intentional injuries or known as murder, the unintentional injuries is of no moment.
Murder is defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended, which provides:
“ART. 248. Murder. Any person who, not falling within the provisions of Article 246, shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua, to death if committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
- With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, or employing means to weaken the defense, or of means or persons to insure or afford impunity;
- In consideration of a price, reward, or promise;
- By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck, stranding of a vessel, derailment or assault upon a railroad, fall of an airship, by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other means involving great waste and ruin;
- On occasion of any calamities enumerated in the preceding paragraph, or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive cyclone, epidemic, or any other public calamity;
- With evident premeditation;
- With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse.
.