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MICHAEL ANGELO T. LEMONCITO v. BSM CREW SERVICE CENTRE PHILIPPINES

FACTS:

Respondent BSM Crew Service Centre Philippines, Inc. (BSM) hired petitioner Michael Angelo Lemoncito as a motor man for a duration of nine months. Petitioner was covered by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between International Maritime Employees' Council and Associated Marine Officers' and Seamen's Union of the Philippines. After being declared fit to work, petitioner boarded MV British Ruby on July 22, 2015. While on board, petitioner complained of fever, cough, and throat discomfort. He was medically repatriated and diagnosed with lower respiratory tract infection and hypertension. The company-designated doctors determined that petitioner's hypertension was not work-related. Petitioner disagreed with the conclusions of the company-designated doctors and consulted his own physician who certified him as "unfit to work as a seaman." Petitioner invoked the grievance procedure in the CBA and filed a complaint for disability benefits, sickness allowance, damages, and attorney's fees. The Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators found petitioner to be totally and permanently disabled and ordered respondents to pay him disability benefits and other monetary awards. Respondents filed a petition for review, arguing that petitioner failed to prove the compensability of his hypertension and that the company-designated doctors' findings were more credible. The Court of Appeals reversed the decision, holding that petitioner failed to prove his total and permanent disability and that the procedure in the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency - Standard Employment Contract should be observed when there is a conflict between the findings of the company-designated doctors and the seafarer's doctor.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether petitioner can be declared as totally and permanently disabled by reason of his hypertension.

RULING:

  1. The Court grants the petition and declares petitioner as totally and permanently disabled. The Court held that the petitioner's hypertension is work-related and that his duties as a motor man contributed to his hypertension. The assessment by the company-designated doctors did not comply with the mandatory 120-day assessment period, and the extension of the assessment period to 240 days was not justified. Petitioner substantially complied with the third-doctor-referral rule, and the findings of his own doctor should be given more weight. Therefore, petitioner is entitled to disability benefits.

PRINCIPLES:

  • The mandatory third-doctor-referral rule should be observed in cases of conflict between the findings of the company-designated doctors and the seafarer's doctor.

  • The assessment period for the determination of a seafarer's disability can be extended to 240 days, but there must be a justification for the extension.

  • The findings of the company-designated doctors should be given more weight if they have more detailed knowledge of the seafarer's condition.

  • Hypertension can be considered as a work-related injury if it is acquired during employment and if it caused organ damage.

  • The employer is obligated to refer the seafarer to a company-designated physician who has the responsibility to arrive at a definite assessment of the seafarer's fitness or degree of disability within 120 days from repatriation. This period may be extended up to 240 days if further medical treatment is needed. (Ampo-on v. Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.)

  • The medical report must be complete and definite to give proper disability benefits to the seafarer. If the assessment is not complete and definite, the medical report shall be set aside. (Ampo-on v. Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.)

  • Without a valid final and definitive assessment from the company-designated doctors within the prescribed periods, the law considers the seafarer's disability as total and permanent. (Ampo-on v. Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.)

  • Permanent total disability compensation may be granted to seafarers suffering from cardiovascular diseases or hypertension, even if they were issued fit-to-work certifications by company-designated doctors beyond the 120/240-day period.