Short answer. Yes, you can still claim damages. Under Article 1741 of the Civil Code, when a shipper partly contributes to the loss but the carrier's negligence is the proximate cause, the carrier remains liable — but the damages awarded will be equitably reduced to reflect your share of fault.
What the law says
If the shipper or owner merely contributed to the loss, destruction or deterioration of the goods, the proximate cause thereof being the negligence of the common carrier, the latter shall be liable in damages, which however, shall be equitably reduced.
Civil Code, Article 1741 — Shipper's Contributory Negligence. Read the full provision →
The rule: carrier still liable, but damages are cut down
Article 1741 of the Civil Code sets a two-part rule. First, the carrier must have been the proximate cause of the loss — meaning its negligence was the dominant, direct reason the goods were damaged. Second, the shipper's contribution must be partial, not the main cause. When both conditions are met, the carrier cannot escape liability entirely just because you also played a role. The law holds it responsible, but the damages it owes are equitably reduced to account for your fault.
What 'proximate cause' means here
Proximate cause asks: but for whose act was the damage most directly produced? Poor labeling that makes a package harder to handle is a contributing factor, but if the carrier then drops, crushes, or misroutes the goods through its own carelessness, the carrier's act is what actually causes the loss. Your labeling mistake sits in the background; the carrier's negligence is in the foreground. If, however, the damage flowed entirely from the labeling error alone — say, the carrier handled the package perfectly and the contents shifted because of how you packed it — then Article 1741 does not apply and the carrier bears no liability.
How reduction works in practice
The statute uses the word equitably, which signals proportionality rather than arithmetic. Courts look at the relative weight of each party's fault and reduce the carrier's exposure accordingly. If your poor labeling made the cargo 20 percent more vulnerable to damage but the carrier's rough handling caused the rest, the damages you recover may be trimmed to reflect that 20 percent contribution. You do not lose everything — but you do not recover the full value of the goods as though you were entirely blameless either. Document the extent of the carrier's negligence carefully, because that determines how much of the loss the carrier must ultimately absorb.
What you should do now
Gather everything that shows the carrier's negligence: delivery receipts noting damage, photographs, tracking records, and any written communications where the carrier acknowledged mishandling. Your labeling practices will also come into scrutiny, so be honest about what you did and did not do. The question is whether the carrier's conduct — independent of your labeling — was the proximate reason the goods were damaged. A lawyer can help you assess the relative fault and advise on the realistic recovery given the particular facts of your shipment.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- In the Matter of Urgent Petition for the Release of Prisoners on Humanitarian Grounds, G.R. No. 252117, July 28, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →