Rosales v. Singa Ship Management Phils.
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Petitioner Jorge P. Rosales (Rosales) was employed by respondents Singa Ship Management Phils., Inc. and Singa Ship Management Pte. Ltd. (collectively, respondents) as an Officer's Staff Steward/ess under a POEA-SEC. He underwent a pre-employment medical examination and was found fit for duty. On November 26, 2012, Rosales boarded the vessel Queen Mary 2, with duties including cleaning rooms, waste collection, and segregation of syringes and bio-medical waste. On June 25, 2013, Rosales complained of abdominal muscle and joint pains, which persisted. He was repatriated to the Philippines on July 20, 2013. Upon reporting to the company-designated physician, initial impressions considered gastritis, and subsequent diagnoses included esophagitis, gastritis, and fatty liver. A Hepatitis profiling revealed Chronic Hepatitis C infection. The company-designated physician's final diagnosis on January 23, 2014, listed Esophagitis - Resolved; Gastritis - Resolved; Fatty Liver; Chronic Hepatitis C Infection. On February 25, 2014, the company-designated physician opined that Rosales' fatty liver was secondary to hyperlipidemia and not work-related, and that Hepatitis C infection is acquired through means not work-related, recommending a Grade 12 disability. Rosales consulted an independent physician, Dr. Emmanuel U. Trinidad, who found fatty liver and Chronic Hepatitis C infection but declared the illness as work-related. Rosales then filed a complaint for disability benefits, sickness allowance, medical and transportation expenses, and damages. Procedural History: The Labor Arbiter (LA) dismissed the claim for permanent total disability benefits, finding the illness not work-related. However, the LA ordered respondents to pay Rosales sickness allowance, financial assistance, and attorney's fees. On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) modified the LA's decision, granting Rosales permanent total disability compensation of US$60,000.00 and attorney's fees, while deleting the award of financial assistance. The NLRC held that Rosales' Hepatitis infection was an occupational disease and work-related. Respondents' motion for reconsideration was denied. The Court of Appeals (CA) annulled and set aside the NLRC's decision, finding that Rosales failed to present sufficient proof that his illnesses were work-related. The CA ordered respondents to pay Rosales US$5,000.00 as financial assistance for humanitarian consideration. Rosales' motion for reconsideration was denied. The Petition: Rosales filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari, maintaining his entitlement to maximum disability compensation due to permanent and total disability, arguing that his illness was work-related and that the company-designated physician failed to issue a final assessment within the 240-day period. Respondents argued that Rosales failed to show substantial evidence proving he contracted the illness while on board.
Issue(s)
Whether Rosales' Chronic Hepatitis C and fatty liver are work-related and compensable. Whether Rosales is entitled to full disability benefits on account of his medical condition.
Ruling
The Supreme Court reversed and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeals. It ruled that Rosales' Chronic Hepatitis C and fatty liver are work-related and compensable. The Court further held that Rosales is entitled to permanent total disability benefits, sickness allowance, and attorney's fees. Respondents were ordered to jointly and solidarily pay Rosales US$60,000.00 for disability benefit, 120 days of sickness allowance, 10% attorney's fees, and US$5,000.00 for financial assistance.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of whether Rosales' Chronic Hepatitis C and fatty liver are work-related and compensable: The Court held that Chronic Hepatitis C, while not explicitly listed as an occupational disease in Section 32-A of the POEA-SEC, is disputably presumed work-related under Section 20(A)(4). The conditions for compensability under Section 32-A, which require the seafarer's work to involve the risks described, the disease to be contracted as a result of exposure to such risks, and to be contracted within a period of exposure, should still be applied. The Court found a reasonable connection between Rosales' work, which involved handling waste materials including syringes and bio-medical waste, and the acquisition of the Hepatitis C virus. The timeline of his symptoms and diagnosis, occurring more than six months after boarding the vessel and coinciding with the incubation period of Hepatitis C, supported this conclusion. The Court also noted that fatty liver is a common consequence of Hepatitis C infection, thus making it work-related as well. The company-designated physician's contrary opinion was deemed erroneous. On the issue of whether Rosales is entitled to full disability benefits on account of his medical condition: The Court ruled in the affirmative, finding basis for the award of permanent total disability benefits. The Court reiterated the rules on the 120-day and 240-day periods for the company-designated physician to issue a final medical assessment. Rosales was repatriated on July 22, 2013, and the company-designated physician's assessment on February 25, 2014, was considered an interim assessment, not a final and definitive one, as it recommended further treatment for six months. This assessment was made 218 days after repatriation, and by the time Rosales filed his complaint on April 2, 2014, 254 days had already lapsed. Since no final and definitive medical assessment was issued within the extended 240-day period, Rosales' disability was considered total and permanent by operation of law. The Court also affirmed the entitlement to 120 days of sickness allowance and sustained the CA's award of financial assistance.
Main Doctrine
Chronic Hepatitis C and fatty liver, though not explicitly listed as occupational diseases in the POEA-SEC, are disputably presumed work-related and compensable if a reasonable connection between the nature of the seafarer's work and the illness can be established. Furthermore, a seafarer is entitled to permanent total disability benefits if the company-designated physician fails to issue a final and definitive medical assessment within the 240-day extended period.