Longno v. Skanfil Maritime Services
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: On October 4, 2017, petitioner Roger Galon Longno (Roger) entered into an employment contract with respondents Crown Shipmanagement, Inc. (Crown Shipmanagement) through its local agent, Skanfil Maritime Services, Inc. (Skanfil Maritime), to work as a Boatswain. In February 2018, while cleaning the ship's hatch, Roger felt his back snap. The pain intensified in April 2018, leading to his medical repatriation on June 5, 2018. The company-designated physician, Marine Medical Services (MMS), diagnosed him with Upper Trapezius Muscle Strain, Mild Degenerative Disc Disease, Cervical and Thoracic Spine, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Left, eventually issuing a final disability rating of Grade 12 on September 24, 2018. Roger refused this assessment and sought a second opinion from Dr. Renato Runas (Dr. Runas), who declared him unfit for sea duty with a permanent disability on December 14, 2018. The parties then agreed to refer Roger's medical condition to a third doctor, Dr. David Alagar (Dr. Alagar). On April 12, 2019, Dr. Alagar issued a Medical Report finding Roger "permanently disabled" and that his condition "fits the criteria of grade 11 (slight rigidity or 1/3 loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk)" under the 2010 POEA-SEC schedule of disability. Despite this, the parties failed to settle as Roger insisted on permanent and total disability benefits, while respondents maintained he was only entitled to partial benefits corresponding to Grade 11. Procedural History: The Labor Arbiter, on September 17, 2019, found Dr. Alagar's assessment ambiguous and, noting Roger's incapacity lasted beyond 240 days, awarded him total permanent disability benefits and attorney's fees. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), on July 22, 2020, affirmed the Labor Arbiter's decision, holding that while Dr. Alagar's assessment was final and definite, Roger's chronic back pain rendered him incapable of gainful employment beyond 240 days, thus entitling him to total permanent disability benefits. The NLRC denied respondents' motion for reconsideration on November 16, 2020. However, the Court of Appeals (CA), on September 8, 2022, annulled and set aside the NLRC's decision, ruling that Roger had a Grade 11 disability, qualifying it as a partial permanent disability under the 2010 POEA-SEC, and awarded him corresponding partial disability benefits and attorney's fees. The CA denied Roger's motion for reconsideration on March 17, 2023. The Petition: Undeterred, Roger filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court before the Supreme Court, assailing the CA's Decision and Resolution. Roger argued that the CA committed a reversible error in reversing the findings of the NLRC, contending that he is entitled to permanent and total disability benefits, not merely partial disability benefits, given his prolonged incapacity and the third doctor's finding that he was "permanently disabled."
Issue(s)
Did the Court of Appeals commit reversible error in reversing the NLRC's award of permanent and total disability benefits to Roger, considering the ambiguity in the third-party physician's assessment and Roger's prolonged incapacity to work?
Ruling
The Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by Roger Galon Longno is GRANTED. The Decision, dated September 8, 2022, and the Resolution, dated March 17, 2023 of the Court of Appeals in CA G.R. SP No. 167823 are REVERSED. Respondents Skanfil Maritime Services, Inc. and Crown Shipmanagement, Inc. are JOINTLY and SEVERALLY LIABLE to PAY Roger Galon Longno the amount of USD 60,000.00, or its peso equivalent at the time of payment, representing permanent and total disability benefits, plus USD 6,000.00, or its peso equivalent at the time of payment, as attorney's fees. Respondents are likewise liable for legal interest at 6% per annum of the foregoing monetary awards, computed from the date of the finality of this Decision until full satisfaction.
Ratio Decidendi
On the Issue of Reversible Error by the Court of Appeals: The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeals committed a reversible error. The Court reiterated that while the employer and seafarer are bound by the disability assessment of a mutually agreed third-party physician, as established in Sunit v. OSM Maritime Services, Inc., this assessment must be definite and conclusive to be valid and binding. In this case, Dr. Alagar's medical assessment was equivocal, stating Roger was "permanently disabled" but also assigning a "grade 11" disability. The Court clarified that beyond these words, Dr. Alagar's report indicated that Roger's chronic back pain was not responsive to therapy or medications and that returning to work would be dangerous for him and others, effectively rendering him unfit for work. More critically, Roger's inability to work persisted beyond the 240-day period, as he was repatriated on June 4, 2018, and Dr. Alagar's assessment was rendered on April 12, 2019, which is 312 days later. Applying Article 192(c)(1) of the Labor Code and Rule X, Section 2 of the Amended Rules on Employees' Compensation, as interpreted in Kestrel Shipping Co., Inc. v. Munar and Sunit, if partial and permanent injuries or disabilities incapacitate a seafarer from performing usual sea duties for more than 120 or 240 days, then the seafarer is, under legal contemplation, totally and permanently disabled. The Court emphasized that in disability compensation, it is the incapacity to work, resulting in the impairment of one's earning capacity, that is compensated, not merely the injury itself. Consistent with the constitutional mandate to afford full protection to labor, the Court resolved the ambiguity in Dr. Alagar's assessment and the prolonged incapacity in favor of Roger, classifying his disability as permanent and total.
Main Doctrine
The entitlement of an overseas seafarer to disability benefits is governed by law, the employment contract, and medical findings. While the 2010 Philippine Overseas Employment Agency Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) provides a schedule of disabilities, an injury or disability classified as partial and permanent (Grade 2 to 14) may still be considered total and permanent if it incapacitates the seafarer from performing usual sea duties for a period exceeding 120 or 240 days, depending on the need for further medical treatment. Furthermore, for a third doctor's assessment to be binding, it must be definite and conclusive; an ambiguous assessment, coupled with prolonged incapacity, will be interpreted in favor of total and permanent disability, consistent with the pro-labor mandate of the Constitution.