G.R. No. 256495 . December 07, 2022
ALEXEI JOSEPH P. GROSSMAN, PETITIONER, VS. NORTH SEA MARINE SERVICES CORPORATION, V. SHIPS LEISURE S.A.M., AND/OR SILVERSEA CRUISES LTD., RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Alexei Joseph P. Grossman was hired as a Galley Utility. In July 2016, while on board, he experienced pain in his left knee. He was diagnosed with a Giant Cell Tumor (GCT) of the left femur, leading to his repatriation on August 5, 2016. He underwent surgery on August 17, 2016, and subsequent physical therapy. The company-designated physician, Dr. Fidel Chua, issued medical reports in December 2016 but did not provide a final disability assessment. On May 12, 2017, during a follow-up, Dr. Chua allegedly declared petitioner unfit to work and assessed the condition as not work-related but issued no medical report. An affidavit from the surgeon, Dr. Lim, dated March 2, 2018, stated GCT is not work-related. Petitioner later consulted his own doctor, Dr. Runas, who declared him permanently and totally unfit for work as a seafarer in a report dated August 23, 2017.
Petitioner filed a claim for disability benefits. The Voluntary Arbitrators (VA) ruled in his favor, awarding full disability benefits under the POEA-SEC, finding no final assessment was issued within the 240-day period. The Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the VA, dismissing the complaint. The CA held that the company-designated physicians had timely issued their assessment, that GCT is not an occupational disease, and that petitioner failed to prove work-relation. Petitioner elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review on certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the VA’s decision and dismissing petitioner’s claim for total and permanent disability benefits.

RULING

Yes, the Court of Appeals erred. The Supreme Court reinstated the VA decision, granting petitioner total and permanent disability benefits. The core legal logic hinges on the failure of the company-designated physician to issue a timely and final disability assessment as required by law. Under the POEA-SEC and relevant jurisprudence, the company-designated physician must issue a final assessment of the seafarer’s disability grading within a period of 120 or, in justified cases, 240 days from medical repatriation. Failure to do so within this period renders the disability total and permanent.
In this case, petitioner was repatriated on August 5, 2016. The 240-day period ended on April 2, 2017. The only documents from the company-designated physician within this period were medical reports dated December 9 and 27, 2016, which did not contain a final disability assessment. The alleged verbal declaration of unfitness on May 12, 2017, was beyond the 240-day period and was unsupported by a contemporaneous medical report. Dr. Lim’s affidavit in 2018 was also issued well beyond the period. Consequently, the employer lost its right to assess the disability, and petitioner’s condition is deemed total and permanent by operation of law. The Court clarified that this legal consequence is independent of the work-relatedness of the illness; the failure to comply with the procedural timeframe itself confers entitlement. Therefore, petitioner is entitled to the corresponding disability benefits.