GR 210307; (February, 2017) (Digest)
G.R. No. 210307 . February 22, 2017
TRADEPHIL SHIPPING AGENCIES, INC./GREGORIO F. ORTEGA, PETITIONERS, VS. DANTE F. DELA CRUZ, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Respondent Dante Dela Cruz, a seafarer employed by petitioner Tradephil, was repatriated in September 2010 after being diagnosed with varicocele. The company-designated physician conducted surgery and subsequent treatments. On December 29, 2010, the physician gave an interim assessment of a Grade 12 disability (slight residual disorder) and scheduled a reevaluation for January 4, 2011. Dela Cruz missed this appointment and instead filed a labor complaint on January 6, 2011. The next day, he consulted his personal doctor, who declared him permanently and totally disabled. On January 17, 2011, he returned to the company doctor, who then declared him fit to work, but Dela Cruz refused to sign the fitness certificate.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed Dela Cruz’s claim for disability benefits, citing the conflict between the two medical assessments and his refusal to undergo the mandatory third-doctor referral. The NLRC affirmed this, noting the company physician’s assessment was more credible and that the 120-day period for assessment could be extended. The Court of Appeals reversed, granting Dela Cruz permanent disability benefits, ruling that the company physician failed to issue a final assessment within the 120-day period, thus entitling him to benefits.
ISSUE
Whether respondent Dante Dela Cruz is entitled to permanent total disability benefits.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the NLRC decision, denying the claim for disability benefits. The Court emphasized the mandatory procedure under the POEA-SEC when a seafarer disagrees with the company-designated physician’s assessment. The law requires the parties to jointly refer the matter to a third doctor for a binding opinion. Here, the petitioners timely offered a third-doctor referral during the labor proceedings, but Dela Cruz unequivocally rejected it. His failure to abide by this procedure meant he forfeited his right to contest the company doctor’s assessment.
The Court clarified that the 120-day period for assessment is not absolute; it can be extended to 240 days if justified, as when further medical treatment is required. In this case, the company physician was actively treating Dela Cruz within this extended framework. His final “fit to work” declaration, though issued after 120 days, was rendered within a reasonable period considering the ongoing medical management. Without a valid third-doctor opinion, the assessment of the company-designated physician—based on months of treatment and evaluation—must prevail over the single-examination assessment of the seafarer’s personal doctor.