GR 266494; (April, 2025) (Digest)
G.R. No. 266494 , April 07, 2025
ROGER GALON LONGNO, PETITIONER, VS. SKANFIL MARITIME SERVICES, INC., AND CROWN SHIPMANAGEMENT, INC., RESPONDENTS.
FACTS
Petitioner Roger Galon Longno was employed as a Boatswain. In February 2018, he injured his back while working. After repatriation in June 2018, the company-designated physician treated him and issued a final disability rating of Grade 12 (slight stiffness of the neck) on September 24, 2018, within the 240-day period. The respondents offered corresponding compensation, which Longno refused.
Longno sought a second opinion from his physician, Dr. Runas, who declared him permanently unfit for sea duty. The parties then agreed to refer the case to a third doctor, Dr. Alagar. In April 2019, Dr. Alagar issued a report finding Longno “permanently disabled” and stating he “fits the criteria of grade 11.” Longno insisted on total and permanent disability benefits, arguing his incapacity lasted beyond 240 days and that the third doctor’s finding of permanent disability entitled him to such.
ISSUE
Whether the petitioner is entitled to total and permanent disability benefits.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reinstated the NLRC decision awarding disability benefits corresponding only to Grade 11, not total and permanent disability. The legal logic is anchored on the binding nature of the third doctor’s opinion under the POEA-SEC. The parties voluntarily submitted to a third doctor, Dr. Alagar, whose assessment is conclusive. Dr. Alagar’s report was unequivocal: he specifically classified Longno’s condition under Grade 11 of the POEA-SEC schedule (“slight rigidity or 1/3 loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk”).
The Court emphasized that the third doctor’s use of the phrase “permanently disabled” was a general medical description and not a legal classification. For entitlement to total and permanent disability benefits under maritime law, the disability must be both total (incapacity to work as a seafarer) and permanent (lasting beyond 120/240 days). Here, the third doctor’s explicit reference to a specific grade from the schedule (Grade 11) controls over the generic term “permanently disabled.” Since Grade 11 is a partial disability under the contract, Longno is only entitled to the corresponding compensation. His claim for total and permanent disability benefits, which requires a finding of a Grade 1 disability or its equivalent, therefore fails.