GR 43150; (December, 1978) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-43150 December 29, 1978
ENRIQUE LIM and DOLORES MONTEMER LIM, petitioners, vs. WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION COMMISSION and LA SUERTE CIGAR & CIGARETTE FACTORY, respondents.
FACTS
The petitioners, Enrique Lim and Dolores M. Lim, are the parents of Julie M. Lim, who was employed as a cellophaner by the private respondent, La Suerte Cigar & Cigarette Factory, from 1972 until October 31, 1974. They filed a claim for death benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, alleging their daughter’s death from acute G.I. hemorrhage and acute abdominal pain was contracted during and aggravated by her employment. The Team Leader of Regional Office 4 of the Department of Labor awarded death benefits, burial expenses, and attorney’s fees in favor of the petitioners.
The private respondent employer appealed to the Workmen’s Compensation Commission. The Commission reversed the award and dismissed the claim, relying exclusively on the attending physician’s report. This report stated the cause of Julie’s illness was unknown but opined it was neither caused by an accident at work nor was it a result of the nature of her employment. The Commission held this report sufficiently established that the petitioners failed to prove a substantial case for compensability.
ISSUE
Whether the Workmen’s Compensation Commission erred in dismissing the claim for death benefits based solely on the physician’s report, thereby disregarding the statutory presumption of compensability.
RULING
Yes, the Commission committed reversible error. The Supreme Court reinstated the award, emphasizing the controlling legal principle of presumption under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. It is a settled rule that when an illness supervenes in the course of employment, there arises a legal, albeit disputable, presumption that such illness arose out of or was at least aggravated by the employment, making the resulting claim compensable. The burden to rebut this presumption by substantial evidence shifts to the employer.
In this case, the undisputed fact is that Julie M. Lim’s illness manifested and led to her death during her employment with the respondent company. The Commission’s sole reliance on the physician’s report was misplaced. The Court noted the report itself declared the cause of the illness as “unknown.” This ambiguity and lack of definitive etiology meant the report could not constitute the clear and convincing evidence required to overthrow the legal presumption of compensability. The respondent employer presented no other evidence to prove the illness was not work-related. Consequently, the presumption stood unrebutted. The Court affirmed the Team Leader’s correct computation of benefits under Sections 8, 10, and 12 of the Act and further allowed the petitioners to submit receipts for possible reimbursement of medical expenses.