G.R. No. 221199 . August 15, 2018
GEMINIANO S. MURILLO, PETITIONER, VS. PHILIPPINE TRANSMARINE CARRIERS, INC., NORWEGIAN CREW MANAGEMENT A/S, AND CARLOS C. SALINAS, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Geminiano S. Murillo, a seafarer, was hired by respondents as an able seaman. On January 12, 2013, while securing a lifeboat, he sustained injuries to both knees. He was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in Indonesia and was repatriated. The company-designated physician in the Philippines, after treatment, assessed him on August 8, 2013, with a “Grade 10 x 2” disability for stretching leg ligaments of both knees under the POEA-SEC schedule.
Murillo disagreed and consulted his personal physician, Dr. Catapang, who issued a report on August 10, 2013, declaring him permanently unfit for sea duties. Murillo filed a complaint for total permanent disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC ruled in his favor, awarding US$90,000. The Court of Appeals reversed, annulling the NLRC decision and dismissing the complaint. The CA held that Murillo’s complaint was premature for failure to first refer the conflicting medical assessments to a third doctor, a mandatory step under the POEA-SEC.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the complaint for prematurity due to the seafarer’s failure to refer the conflicting medical assessments to a third doctor.

RULING

The Supreme Court PARTLY GRANTED the petition. It upheld the CA’s ruling that referral to a third doctor is mandatory under Section 20(B)(3) of the POEA-SEC when there is a conflict between the company-designated physician’s assessment and the seafarer’s personal doctor’s opinion. This procedure is a condition precedent for claiming disability benefits. Murillo’s failure to initiate this referral rendered the company-designated physician’s assessment final and binding.
However, the Supreme Court found that the CA erred in completely dismissing the complaint. A dismissal for prematurity only applies when no assessment has been issued by the company-designated physician within the prescribed period, leaving the seafarer’s claim unresolved. Here, a final assessment (Grade 10 x 2) was issued. Therefore, the proper remedy was not dismissal but to enforce the binding assessment. Consequently, the Court modified the CA decision and awarded Murillo disability compensation based on the company doctor’s final grade. Applying the POEA-SEC Schedule, a Grade 10 disability for one knee entitles a seafarer to 20.15% of US$50,000, or US$10,075. Since both knees were affected, the total award was US$20,150. Respondents were held jointly and severally liable for this amount.