G.R. No. 207804 , June 17, 2015
Ace Navigation Company and Vela International Marine Limited, Petitioners, vs. Santos D. Garcia, Respondent.

FACTS

Respondent Santos D. Garcia was hired by petitioner Ace Navigation Company to work as a fitter on the vessel M/T Capricorn Star, owned by co-petitioner Vela International Marine Limited. His employment was covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (VELA-AMOSUP CBA). On February 9, 2010, while working, Garcia slipped and fell, causing pain in his right arm, shoulder, and chest. He was eventually repatriated on May 20, 2010. Following repatriation, he was treated by company-designated physicians who diagnosed him with work-related bilateral shoulder strain/sprain and other conditions. On January 12, 2011, a company-designated physician, Dr. Nicomedes Cruz, assessed Garcia with a “Grade 10 Moderate stiffness or two-thirds loss of motion of the neck” disability based on the POEA Schedule. Garcia consulted an independent physician, Dr. Nicanor F. Escutin, who diagnosed him with a work-related total and permanent injury on his cervical spine, rendering him unfit for sea duty. Garcia filed a claim for total and permanent disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter ruled in Garcia’s favor, awarding US$80,000.00. The NLRC reversed, granting only US$10,075.00 based on the Grade 10 assessment. The Court of Appeals reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s decision, prompting petitioners to elevate the case to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

Whether or not the Court of Appeals correctly declared Garcia to be entitled to permanent total disability benefits.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled that the petition is meritorious. It found that the Court of Appeals erred in ascribing grave abuse of discretion to the NLRC. The Court held that Garcia’s inability to work for more than 120 days after repatriation does not automatically render his disability total and permanent. Citing Vergara v. Hammonia Maritime Services, Inc., the Court emphasized that the company-designated physician is given a period of up to 240 days from repatriation to treat the seafarer and make a declaration on the nature of the disability. It is only upon the lapse of 240 days without a fitness-to-work declaration or upon such a declaration by the company-designated physician that a seafarer may be deemed totally and permanently disabled. In this case, the company-designated physician issued a disability grading (Grade 10) within the 240-day period. The Court found the NLRC’s decision, which was based on this assessment and the governing CBA, to be supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, Garcia was only entitled to the disability benefits corresponding to Grade 10 as per the CBA, not total and permanent disability benefits.