Total and Permanent Disability: Key Lessons from a Landmark Philippine Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court recently reminded shipping companies that a disability assessment that is never given to the seafarer is, for all legal purposes, no assessment at all. In Abella v. Abosta Shipmanagement Corporation (G.R. No. 249358, April 28, 2021), the Court awarded a seafarer total and permanent disability benefits because the company-designated physician failed to furnish him a copy of the final medical assessment within the periods required by law.

The case is a practical guide for seafarers and their families on what makes a disability assessment binding — and what happens when it is not.

The Facts

Gregorio Abella worked as an oiler on board M/V Sino Trader under a 10-month contract. In June 2016, while carrying a sack of rice, he felt a sudden snap in his lower back with sharp pain radiating to his leg. He was treated in Singapore and Brazil, then repatriated to the Philippines on August 6, 2016.

Abella reported to the company-designated physician two days later. The doctor diagnosed him with herniated nucleus pulposus and disc protrusion, and recommended physical therapy. On November 22, 2016 — 108 days after repatriation — the company doctor issued a medical assessment rating his disability as Grade 8.

But Abella never received a copy of that assessment. He was only verbally told of the Grade 8 rating during a conference on February 20, 2017. When he asked for further treatment or a better offer, he was refused. He later consulted his own doctor, who declared him permanently unfit for sea duty.

Abella sued for total and permanent disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter, the NLRC, and the Court of Appeals all ruled against him, relying on the company doctor's Grade 8 assessment. The Supreme Court reversed.

The Issue

Was Abella entitled to total and permanent disability benefits under the POEA-SEC, or only to Grade 8 partial disability benefits?

The Ruling

The Supreme Court ruled in Abella's favor, granting him US$60,000.00 in total and permanent disability benefits, plus attorney's fees and legal interest.

The Court explained that under Section 20(A) of the POEA-SEC, the company-designated physician must issue a final, definite, and conclusive medical assessment within 120 or 240 days from repatriation. But issuing it is not enough.

Citing its earlier ruling in Gere v. Anglo-Eastern Crew Management Phils., Inc., the Court emphasized that the company-designated physician must also give the assessment to the seafarer. The seafarer must be fully informed of his medical condition, the treatments given, the diagnosis and prognosis, and his disability grading. A medical certificate should be personally received by the seafarer or sent to him by any sanctioned means.

In this case, the company failed to furnish Abella a copy of the November 22, 2016 assessment. He was only verbally told of his Grade 8 rating in February 2017 — and only received a copy of the written assessment during a mandatory conference in September 2017, a full 396 days after repatriation.

The Court held that a verbal notice is not enough. Without a copy of the assessment, the seafarer cannot make an informed decision on whether to agree with it or contest it before an independent doctor or a third doctor. Requiring a seafarer to seek a third-doctor opinion without first being informed of the company doctor's assessment, the Court said, is a clear violation of due process.

Because the company failed to give Abella the assessment within the mandated periods, he was deemed totally and permanently disabled by operation of law.

Practical Takeaways

• A disability rating must be in writing and delivered to the seafarer. A verbal announcement of a disability grade is not legally sufficient.
• The company doctor's assessment must be final, definite, and conclusive. It must state whether the seafarer is fit to work or the exact disability rating, without conditions or further treatment required.
• The 120/240-day rule matters, but notice matters more. Even if the doctor issues an assessment within the period, failing to give it to the seafarer within that period can result in automatic total and permanent disability.
• Seafarers should keep records. Document when you reported to the company doctor, what treatments you received, and whether you ever received a written copy of any final assessment.
• A seafarer's own doctor's assessment becomes relevant when the company doctor's assessment was not properly given to the seafarer.

This article is general information and not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a lawyer or ask ASG Legal AI.