GR 213465; (January, 2018) (Digest)
G.R. No. 213465. January 08, 2018
CAREER PHILIPPINES SHIPMANAGEMENT, INC.; COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT LTD. LIBERIA; AND/OR SAMPAGUITA D. MARAVE, PETITIONERS, VS. DONARD P. SILVESTRE, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Respondent Donard P. Silvestre was hired as an ordinary seaman. On May 6, 2011, while on duty, he was hit in the head by a closing hatch cover, sustaining an avulsed wound on his forehead. He was treated and repatriated, arriving in the Philippines on May 19, 2011. He was placed under the care of the company-designated physician. Despite undergoing a scar revision procedure, Silvestre continued to experience intermittent pain, throbbing headaches, and numbness. On September 20, 2011, he filed a complaint for disability benefits.
The company-designated physician eventually declared Silvestre “fit to work” on November 23, 2011, after 188 days of treatment. However, Silvestre consulted independent physicians who, in October 2011, declared him unfit for sea duty with a Grade 9 permanent partial disability. The Labor Arbiter dismissed his complaint, but the NLRC reversed, awarding total permanent disability benefits. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC.
ISSUE
Whether or not respondent Silvestre is entitled to permanent total disability benefits.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the award of permanent total disability benefits. The Court applied the 120/240-day rule for assessing disability. The company-designated physician only declared Silvestre fit to work on November 23, 2011, which was 188 days from his repatriation. This declaration was issued beyond the 120-day period allowed for assessment without extension. Under the law, when a seafarer’s illness or injury persists beyond 120 days, he is deemed to be suffering from permanent total disability, unless the company-designated physician justifies a further period of treatment up to 240 days.
Here, no justification for an extension was provided. The belated “fit to work” declaration was therefore ineffective. The Court emphasized that the seafarer’s inability to work for more than 120 days, coupled with the uncontroverted findings of his own doctors that he was unfit for sea duty, warranted a conclusion of permanent total disability. The award of US$60,000 as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sickness allowance, and attorney’s fees was upheld. The ruling reinforces that the failure of the company-designated physician to issue a timely and justified assessment within the statutory periods inures to the benefit of the seafarer.