Short answer. Yes. Under Article 1734 of the Civil Code, a common carrier is not liable for loss or damage to goods if the damage was caused by defects in the packing or containers. If your packing was genuinely defective and that defect caused the damage, the carrier may be legally excused.
What the law says
Common carriers are responsible for the loss, destruction, or deterioration of the goods, unless the same is due to any of the following causes only
Civil Code, Article 1734 — The Five Exempting Causes for Common Carriers. Read the full provision →
The five causes that excuse a carrier
Article 1734 starts with the general rule: common carriers are responsible for loss, destruction, or deterioration of goods. But the same article immediately lists five situations where that responsibility does not attach. These are: a natural disaster; an act of a public enemy in war; an act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods; the character of the goods or defects in the packing or in the containers; and an order of competent public authority. Outside these five causes, the carrier is liable.
Defective packing as an exempting cause
Cause number four is directly relevant to your situation. The law distinguishes between the character of the goods themselves — say, inherently fragile items — and the packing that was used to protect them. If the container or packing was faulty and that fault caused the damage, the carrier can invoke this exemption. The key is causation: the defective packing must be the actual reason the goods were harmed, not merely a background fact. A carrier cannot point to imperfect packing and escape liability if the damage really resulted from its own rough handling.
What you should look at before accepting the carrier's position
The exemption is a defense the carrier must prove, not a presumption in its favor. Ask whether the damage is consistent with the type of defect the carrier is describing. Were other items in the same shipment, packed the same way, undamaged? Did the carrier note the defective packing at pickup — if so, was it still accepted without reservations? Did it give you any written advice to repack before accepting the cargo? A carrier that accepted goods it knew to be poorly packed, without objection, has a harder time invoking this cause.
The shipper's own act or omission
Cause number three — act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods — is a separate, broader exemption. This can cover situations beyond just packing, such as providing wrong instructions, misdeclaring the nature of the goods, or failing to inform the carrier of special handling requirements. In practice, poor packing could fall under either cause three or cause four depending on how the facts are framed. Either way, the carrier bears the burden of showing that the damage flows from that cause and not from its own negligence.
Practical next step
Document everything now: photographs of the damage, the original packing materials, the bill of lading or waybill, and any delivery receipts noting the condition of the goods on arrival. If the carrier is asserting defective packing, ask it to specify in writing exactly what the defect was and how it caused the damage. Whether the exemption actually applies in your case depends on those specific facts, and a legal professional can help you assess whether the carrier's defense holds or whether you have a valid claim for the loss.