Career Philippines Shipmanagement Inc. v. Garcia

When a seafarer's company-designated physician and personal physician issue conflicting assessments, referral to a third doctor is mandatory; absent that referral, the company-designated physician's assessment is final and binding. The 120-day treatment period may be extended to 240 days where the seafarer still requires medical treatment, and a fit-to-work assessment issued within that extended period defeats a claim for total and permanent disability benefits.

Career Philippines Shipmanagement, Inc. engaged Ardel S. Garcia as bosun for foreign employer Columbia Shipmanagement, with Verlou R. Carmelino acting for the agency, under a nine-month contract starting February 19, 2011, extendible by one month upon mutual consent. The employment was governed by the POEA Standard Employment Contract, which makes the company-designated physician responsible for assessing a seafarer's disability and provides a third-doctor mechanism when the seafarer's physician disagrees. The POEA-SEC, as amended by POEA Memorandum Circular No. 10, Series of 2010, governs compensation and benefits for work-related injury or illness.

Ardel S. Garcia was hired by Career Philippines Shipmanagement, Inc. as bosun for the vessel Cape Bastia for its foreign employer Columbia Shipmanagement, with a basic salary of USD690.00 and a tour of duty of nine months plus one month upon mutual consent, starting February 19, 2011. His duties included efficient deck operations and maintenance, operating and maintaining the paint airless sprayer and pneumatic and electric tools, inventory and requisition of deck stores, paint, and anti-pollution materials, supervising cargo hold preparation and cleaning, fresh water and stores taking, hatch and tank securing, crane operation, cargo gear inspection, safety of cargo gear and pilot ladder, vessel preparation for sea and heavy weather, anchor handling, issuance of ratings for safe-working procedures and punctuality, reporting problems to the Chief Officer, and observing quality and cost effectiveness. Garcia claimed he was on duty for 8 to 16 hours a day and was always on call to ensure the vessel was seaworthy, exposed to harsh conditions, pollutants, and intoxicating chemicals in the engine room, and suffered over fatigue from long and strenuous hours.

On November 19, 2011, while the vessel was in Lexum, Portugal, it encountered rough seas due to stormy weather. The master instructed Garcia to arrange twelve shackles to avoid damage to the cargo. He finished seven shackles when successive giant waves hit the vessel; the force thrust Garcia against the railings and caused him to plunge into the sea, and other crew members were also thrown overboard. Garcia thereafter felt pain on his right chest that persisted for more than one week.

On November 23, 2011, the vessel docked at the nearest port of entry, and the master sent Garcia to the Hospital Privado da Boa Nova in Portugal. A chest x-ray revealed “right side, pneumothorax and possible lung contusion of the lower lobe.” A chest tube was inserted on the same date to improve oxygenation and removed on November 25, 2011; the attending doctor recommended immediate repatriation. Garcia was repatriated on December 5, 2011 and reported to Dr. Cruz on December 7, 2011. At the NGC Medical Clinic in Manila, company-designated physician Dr. Nicomedes Cruz attended to him and gave medication and therapy until April 2, 2012.

After the company-designated physician discontinued treatment on April 2, 2012, Garcia still suffered chest pains and difficulty breathing. On April 2, 2012, the company-designated physician advised him to continue physical therapy because there was still pain and tenderness on his right chest. On April 16, 2012, the company-designated physician found no more pain in the right lateral chest area, full and functional chest and shoulder motion, and clear breath sounds on both lung fields, and declared Garcia fit to work effective April 16, 2012. Garcia consulted his personal physician, Dr. May S. Donato-Tan of the Philippine Heart Center, who requested laboratory tests and continued medication and check-up; after a year of treatment, Dr. Donato-Tan concluded that the nature and extent of his illness permanently and totally prohibited him from working as a seafarer in whatever capacity. Dr. Donato-Tan's medical certificate was undated and cited no procedures undertaken or medications prescribed; it based the permanent disability finding on Garcia's apprehensions and anxiety.

Garcia filed a complaint on June 19, 2013 for total and permanent disability benefits and damages, docketed as NLRC NCR Case No. OFW (M)-06-08883-13, after petitioners did not pay him total and permanent disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter found that the company-designated physician had declared Garcia fit to resume work on April 16, 2012 and that Dr. Donato-Tan's findings were without basis and unsupported by proof. The CA noted that despite the April 16, 2012 fit-to-work report, Garcia continued to suffer chest pains and difficulty breathing, and that the fit-to-work order was issued 133 days after repatriation.

• Company-Designated Physician's Fit-to-Work Assessment: Petitioners argued that Garcia is not entitled to disability benefits in any amount because the company-designated physician determined that Garcia was fit to work after personally attending to, treating, and monitoring his condition; there was no showing that the findings were arrived at arbitrarily or fraudulently, so Garcia is bound by the declaration under the POEA Contract.
• Carmelino's Personal Liability: Petitioners argued that Carmelino should be dropped as party-respondent because corporate officers are not personally liable for the money claims of the company's employees, and Garcia did not allege that Carmelino acted with malice and bad faith in handling the disability benefits claim.
• Personal Physician's Findings: Petitioners argued that the company-designated physician's assessment should prevail and that the personal physician's medical findings were biased in Garcia's favor; there was no evidence showing that the personal physician treated Garcia for more than one year, and Garcia had not shown any proof that he applied for sea service and was found to be unfit.

• Total and Permanent Disability Benefits: Garcia argued that he was entitled to total and permanent disability benefits and damages because he suffered a work-related injury, continued to experience chest pains and difficulty breathing, and his personal physician concluded that the nature and extent of his illness permanently and totally prohibited him from working as a seafarer in whatever capacity.
• Premature Company-Designated Physician Findings: Garcia argued that the company-designated physician's findings were premature; as of April 2, 2012, the company-designated physician advised him to continue physical therapy because there was still pain and tenderness on his right chest, and on April 16, 2012, although the company-designated physician found no more pain in the right lateral chest area, Garcia still continued to suffer chest pains, compelling him to seek a second opinion.
• Credence to Personal Physician: Garcia argued that his personal physician's assessment should be given credence because the latter was able to diagnose why Garcia was still suffering chest pains despite the “fit to work” assessment of the company-designated physician.

• Total and Permanent Disability Benefits: Whether the CA erred in affirming the NLRC Decision which found Garcia entitled to total and permanent disability benefits.

• Total and Permanent Disability Benefits: No. The CA erred. The company-designated physician's fit-to-work assessment was issued within the justified 240-day extended period, and Garcia's failure to refer the conflicting assessments to a third doctor made that assessment final and binding.

• Total and Permanent Disability Benefits: The SC applied Section 20(A) of the POEA-SEC, as amended by POEA Memorandum Circular No. 10, Series of 2010, which entrusts the company-designated physician with determining the seafarer's degree of disability and provides that if a doctor appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly between the employer and the seafarer, whose decision shall be final and binding. Under Elburg Shipmanagement Phils. Inc. vs. Quiogue, the company-designated physician must issue a final medical assessment within 120 days from the seafarer's report; if no assessment is issued within 120 days without justifiable reason, the disability becomes permanent and total; if there is sufficient justification, such as further medical treatment, the period extends to 240 days, with the employer bearing the burden of proving the justification; and if no assessment is issued within 240 days, the disability becomes permanent and total regardless of justification. Here, on April 2, 2012, the 120th day of treatment, the company-designated physician advised Garcia to continue physical therapy because there was still pain and tenderness on his right chest, which sufficiently justified extending the treatment period beyond 120 days under Tradephil Shipping Agencies, Inc. vs. Dela Cruz. The fit-to-work assessment was issued on April 16, 2012, or 133 days after repatriation, within the extended 240-day period. On the conflicting assessments, the SC held that while a seafarer may consult his or her own physician for a second opinion, Silagan vs. Southfield Agencies, Inc. and Destriza vs. Fair Shipping Corporation establish that resort to a third-doctor opinion is mandatory when the findings conflict; the third doctor's opinion is final and binding, and absent such referral, the company-designated physician's assessment prevails. The company-designated physician diagnosed pneumothorax but declared Garcia fit to work, while Garcia's personal physician certified him permanently disabled; Garcia did not initiate the mandatory third-doctor procedure, so the company-designated physician's assessment became final and binding. The SC also found the company-designated physician's assessment more credible because he had prolonged opportunity to track Garcia's condition, whereas Dr. Donato-Tan's undated medical certificate cited no procedures or medications and based the permanent disability finding on Garcia's apprehensions and anxiety, with no showing of the duration of treatment; Formerly INC Shipmanagement, Incorporated vs. Rosales supports preferring the company-designated physician's assessment over a private physician's. The SC added that while the State protects labor, the law authorizes neither injustice nor oppression of the employer; on the fit-to-work assessment, Garcia was able and fit to work and not entitled to total and permanent disability benefits.

• 120/240-Day Rule for Seafarer Disability Assessments — Under the POEA-SEC and Elburg, the company-designated physician must issue a final assessment within 120 days from the seafarer's report; failure without justifiable reason makes the disability permanent and total; sufficient justification, such as further medical treatment, extends the period to 240 days, with the employer bearing the burden; failure within 240 days makes the disability permanent and total regardless of justification. The SC applied this by finding that the April 2, 2012 advice to continue physical therapy justified extension and that the April 16, 2012 fit-to-work assessment, issued 133 days after repatriation, fell within the 240-day period.
• Mandatory Third-Doctor Referral — When the company-designated physician and the seafarer's physician issue conflicting assessments, the seafarer must refer the matter to a third doctor jointly agreed by the employer and seafarer; the third doctor's decision is final and binding, and absent referral, the company-designated physician's assessment prevails. The SC applied this because Garcia did not resort to a third doctor despite conflicting fit-to-work and permanent-disability assessments, making the company-designated physician's assessment final and binding.
• Credibility of Company-Designated Physician's Assessment — The company-designated physician's assessment is more credible when based on prolonged treatment and monitoring of the seafarer, compared with a personal physician's assessment based on limited examination or unsupported records. The SC applied this because Dr. Cruz treated Garcia over a prolonged period, while Dr. Donato-Tan's undated certificate lacked procedures, medications, and a showing of treatment duration and rested on Garcia's apprehensions.
• Labor Protection Does Not Authorize Injustice to Employer — The State's policy to protect labor does not authorize injustice or oppression of the employer. The SC applied this by denying benefits based on the fit-to-work assessment despite the policy favoring labor.

• “If the company-designated physician fails to give his [or her] assessment within the period of 120 days, without any justifiable reason, then the seafarer's disability becomes permanent and total;” — Part of the Elburg rules summarized by the SC on when a seafarer's disability becomes permanent and total.
• “In case of conflicting assessments, the third doctor's decision shall be final and binding on both parties.” — The SC's statement of the POEA-SEC rule on conflicting medical assessments.
• “It is settled that in case of disagreements between the findings of the company-designated physician and the seafarer's doctor of choice, resort to a third-doctor opinion is mandatory. The third-doctor opinion is final and binding between the parties. The opinion of the company-designated physician prevails over that of the seafarer's personal doctor in case there is no third-doctor opinion.” — The SC's adoption of Destriza, making failure to resort to a third doctor fatal to the seafarer's claim.
• “While it is the policy of the State to give full protection to labor, the law nonetheless authorizes neither injustice nor oppression of the employer.” — The SC's balancing statement, used to deny benefits on the basis of the company-designated physician's fit-to-work assessment.

• Elburg Shipmanagement Phils. Inc. vs. Quiogue, 765 Phil. 341 (2015) — Controlling precedent; summarized the 120/240-day rules governing seafarer disability claims.
• Tradephil Shipping Agencies, Inc. vs. Dela Cruz, 806 Phil. 338 (2017) — Followed; sufficient justification to extend the 120-day period exists where the seafarer is still undergoing treatment and evaluation by the company-designated physician.
• Silagan vs. Southfield Agencies, Inc., 793 Phil. 751 (2016) — Followed; referral to a third doctor is mandatory when the seafarer disagrees with the company-designated physician's assessment.
• Destriza vs. Fair Shipping Corporation, G.R. No. 203539, February 10, 2021 — Followed; failure to resort to a third-doctor opinion is fatal, and the company-designated physician's opinion prevails absent a third-doctor opinion.
• Formerly INC Shipmanagement, Incorporated vs. Rosales, 744 Phil. 774 (2014) — Followed; the company-designated physician's assessment is more credible than a private physician's assessment based on limited examination or existing records.

• Section 20(A), POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC), as amended by POEA Memorandum Circular No. 10, Series of 2010 — Governs compensation and benefits for work-related injury or illness; makes the employer liable for medical treatment until the seafarer is declared fit to work or the degree of disability is established by the company-designated physician; limits sickness allowance to 120 days; requires the seafarer to submit to a post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician within three working days upon return; and provides that if the seafarer's appointed doctor disagrees with the assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly by the employer and seafarer, whose decision shall be final and binding. The SC applied this provision in upholding the company-designated physician's fit-to-work assessment and in requiring the third-doctor procedure for conflicting assessments.