Short answer. Twelfth in line. Article 2244 ranks the preferred claims against an insolvent debtor's general property, and damages for death or personal injuries caused by a quasi-delict are listed twelfth. So your judgment for injuries from the debtor's negligence is a preferred credit, but a lower-ranked one, paid after the earlier categories.
What the law says
Damages for death or personal injuries caused by a quasi-delict
Civil Code, Article 2244 — Order of Preference on Other Property. Read the full provision →
A ranked list of preferred claims
When an insolvent debtor's ordinary property is distributed, Article 2244 does not treat all creditors alike. It lists claims that are preferred in a stated order, paid ahead of ordinary unsecured creditors and ranked among themselves in the sequence given. The list runs from the most favoured claims, such as funeral and last-illness expenses and certain wages, down through support, criminal indemnities, taxes, and documented credits. Where a particular claim sits on this list determines how likely it is to be paid when the debtor's assets are not enough to satisfy everyone.
Quasi-delict injury damages rank twelfth
A judgment for damages arising from the debtor's negligence falls into a specific slot on the list. Article 2244 includes, as its twelfth item, damages for death or personal injuries caused by a quasi-delict. So a creditor who won damages because the debtor's negligent act caused death or physical injury holds a preferred credit, ahead of the most ordinary claims, but one that ranks low within the preferred group. Eleven categories are paid before it, which means a good deal of the debtor's free property may already be committed by the time this claim is reached.
What ranks ahead of it
Ahead of quasi-delict damages come, among others, funeral expenses, a year's wages of the debtor's employees and helpers, last-illness expenses, labor-accident compensation, advances for the debtor's support, support during the insolvency, criminal fines and indemnities, administration and legal expenses, and national, provincial, and municipal taxes. Only after these earlier categories are satisfied does the twelfth-ranked claim for quasi-delict death or injury damages get its turn. Its preferred status is real, but its low position means recovery depends heavily on how much value remains after the higher claims are paid.
Practical outlook for the injured creditor
For someone holding a judgment for injuries caused by the debtor's negligence, the takeaway is mixed. The claim is not a mere ordinary debt; it is preferred, which is better than standing at the very back with unsecured creditors. But being twelfth in the order means the higher-ranked claims are paid first, so full recovery is far from guaranteed in a thin estate. The realistic step is to assert the claim as a preferred credit in the insolvency proceeding, while recognising that what is actually collected turns on the value left after the claims ranked above it are met.
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.
- Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation vs. Bureau of International Revenue, G.R. No. 172892, June 13, 2013 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Strategic Alliance Development Corporation vs. Radstock Securities Limited and Philippine National Construction corporation, G.R. No. 178158 / G.R. No. 180428, December 4, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Abundio Barayoga, et al. vs. Asset Privatization Trust, G.R. No. 160073, October 24, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →