The
company-designated physician is duty-bound to timely issue to a repatriated
sick or injured seafarer a declaration/ certification on his fitness for
sea-service or a final disability assessment. Failure to do so would give rise
to the conclusion that the seafarer’s disability is total and permanent.
In
the case of Dario A. Carcedo (substituted by his wife Priscilla Carcedo) vs.
Maine Marine Philippines, Inc. and/or Ma. Corazon Geuse-Songcuya (G.R> No.
203804, April 15, 2015), Carcedo, the seafarer, was medically repatriated due
to a wounded foot. After his right big toe was amputated, the
company-designated doctor recommended an impediment disability grading of 8
percent loss of the toe. Unfortunately, the suffering of Carcedo did not end as
he again underwent medical procedure on his foot. He then sued for total and
permanent disability benefits, sickness allowance and other damages. In the
meanwhile, a doctor of his choice again operated of him and removed a secont
toe.
The arbiter supported the company-designated doctor’s findings while the
NLRC, on appeal, awarded the Carcedo full disability benefits. The Court of
Appeals however, upheld the 8% disability grading made by the
company-designated physician in accordance with the CBA. Before the Supreme
Court, Carcedo’s position was sustained and he was awarded the full disability
compensation.
The
Supreme Court made it clear that the seafarer’s right to disability benefits is
governed not only by the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the POEA-Standard
Employment contract enterd into by the parties, but also the provisions on
disability of the Labor Code and the Amended Rules on Employee Compensation
(AREC) implementing Title II, Book Code concept of permanent total disability
applies to seafarers whereby it is not the injury which is compensated in a
disability compensation matter, but rather the incapacity to work resulting in
the impairment of one’s earning capacity.
The
High Court pointed out that the declaration/ certification of the
company-designated physician as to (a) the fitness of the seafarer to engage in
sea duty or (b) his final disability assessment, during the 120-day or 240-day
treatment period allows the employer to determine whether the seafarer is fit
for sea duty or permanently disabled and the degree of such disability. The
absence of such declaration/ certification transforms the temporary total
disability status of the seafarer to permanent total disability, regardless of
the disability grade. Thus, citing the case C.F.Sharp Management vs. Joel D.
Taok (G.R. No. 193679, July 18, 2012), a seafarer may sue for total and
permanent disability benefits if, among others, (1) the company-designated
physician failed to issue said declaration even after lapse of the 120-day
period and there is no indication that further medical treatment would address
his temporary total disability hence, justify an extension of the period to 240
days, and (2) 240 days had lapsed without any certification being issued by the
company-designated physician.
The
Supreme Court found the 8% disability grading assessment of the
company-designated physician to be merely an interim one and not final since
Carcedo continued with his medical treatments beyond the 120-day period and the
extended temporary disability period of after 120-day period but less than 240
days. No definitive impediment rating of Carcedo’s disability was ever given.
In the same token, the said 8% disability grading assessment did not include a
certification of the seafarer’s fitness for sea duty, which ought to be the job
of the company-designated physician.
#Article of Atty. Augusto R. Bundang of SVBB Law orignally published in the Tinig ng Marino July August 2015 issue.
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