MANILA – A five-star hotel in Pasay City was ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) to pay PHP250,000 in damages arising from the injuries sustained by two children who slipped in the swimming pool more than 10 years ago.
The SC directed Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila to compensate the family of the children, aged 5 and 3 at the time, in a 21-page decision published Tuesday.
It reversed the May 2016 ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA), which upheld a lower court decision that dismissed the complaint for failure to substantiate allegations.
On Feb. 13, 2009, one of the children hit his head on the edge of the pool, causing bleeding, while the other one suffered a contusion.
They were attended to by the hotel physician.
Four months later, one of the children had seizures.
The family sued Sofitel for negligence.
In awarding damages, the SC said the hotel was “duty bound to undertake protective measures to ensure the children’s safety” and must “guarantee that appropriate safeguards were in place…to protect children against the injury from unknown or unseen dangers.” (PNA)
