INQUIRER.net file photo
MANILA, Philippines – The father of a six-year-old girl who sustained first-degree burns after a Cebu Pacific flight attendant accidentally poured hot water on her arm is considering filing charges against the employee and her company.
“I will be filing a negligence case dun sa (against the) flight attendant,” Ryan Rey Quilala told INQUIRER.net on Sunday.
Quilala, who works as a prosecutor for the Office of the Ombudsman, said he will also file a claim for damages against Cebu Pacific for the “anxiety” and “trauma” their family experienced during the incident last May 27 while they were on flight 5J 8974 from Davao City to Manila.
The lawyer said the flight attendant not only spilled “steaming hot water” on the right arm of her daughter Reanne but also did not know how to apply first aid.
Quilala said the flight attendant “simply asked for an apology instead of immediately administering first aid treatment” as his daughter cried in pain.
“Had it not for the request of my wife for any medication the entire flight crew will just watch in vain,” he said.
He claimed that the flight crew was not properly trained and equipped to handle emergency situations.
“Di ba, ang first aid treatment ay running water? Ang ginawa nya linagyan nya kaagad ng plastic bag. Hindi pa iyong ice bag…plastic talaga na puno ng ice. In-apply nya directly sa skin ng anak ko,” he said.
(Isn’t it that first aid treatment for burns is running water? What she did is she took a plastic bag. Not an ice bag…but a plastic bag filled with ice. She applied it directly to my daughter’s arm.)
Quilala said they had to stop the flight attendant because it was “erroneous” for her to do so. He said they instead used the child’s towel to wrap the ice.
According to the World Health Organization, ice should not be directly applied on burns because “it deepens the injury.”
The lawyer said they also asked for a burn ointment, which was handed to them after 20 minutes.
“Yung burn ointment na dinala pa nila in Deutsche. Sabi ko paano ko malalaman kung pang-burn? Tinignan pa namin yung box for English translation. Tsaka lang nya chineck kung expired,” he added.
(The inscription on the burn ointment they gave us was in Deutsche. I asked them how will we know if it is indeed for burns. We had to check the box for the English translation. And it was only then that they checked if it was expired.)
He pointed out that such medication should always be readily available since flight attendants regularly serve hot beverages and food.
After verifying that it wasn’t expired, they applied the ointment on the child’s skin. When they got home, they had the family doctor attend to Reanne. The doctor confirmed that it was a first degree burn.
No response
Amid handing over a handwritten complaint to Cebu Pacific, Quilala said they have yet to receive an acknowledgement from the company.
“Sabi nung senior flight attendant nila mag-iemail sa akin the next day so I gave them enough time. Wednesday, Thursday, hindi nakipag-communicate sa akin so Friday I decided susulat na ako sa Cebu Pacific,” Quilala said.
(The senior flight attendant assured me that they will e-mail the next day so I gave them enough time. Wednesday and Thursday came and they have yet to communicate with me so I decided to send a letter on Friday.)
A copy of the letter was also sent to the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
“In view of your seeming indifference to this incident please be advised that I will pursue all means and legal actions to protect the rights of my daughter and that of my family under Section 15 of the DOTC-DTI Joint Administrative Order No. 01 (Series of 2012), Articles 1170, 2217, 2219(2), 2221 and 2229 of the New Civil Code, and other pertinent laws, rules and regulations,” Quilala said in the letter.
He said he never wanted media attention but after a television network saw his Facebook post, he decided that he “might as well tell the truth.”
Quilala said he is hoping that their case would be an example for other disgruntled passengers of Cebu Pacific.
“Kasi baka may ibang biktima na tumatahimik na lang syempre yung hassle, yung gastos. Some of them cannot afford yung abugado to protect their rights,” he said.
(Perhaps other victims don’t do anything because of the hassle and the expenses. Some of them cannot afford a lawyer to protect their rights.)
INQUIRER.net attempted to get the side of Cebu Pacific but the lines were busy. Initial media reports said the company is still investigating the incident.
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