Case Digest (G.R. No. 250806)
Facts:
Avior Marine, Inc., Carina Marine N.V., and/or Edna L. Ranara v. Arnaldo R. Turreda, G.R. No. 250806, September 29, 2021, Supreme Court Second Division, Inting, J., writing for the Court.Petitioners Avior Marine, Inc. (with local agents Carina Marine N.V. and Edna L. Ranara) hired respondent Arnaldo R. Turreda on December 16, 2015 as Chief Cook under a nine‑month contract. After a pre‑employment medical exam that cleared him for sea duty, he boarded the vessel Water Phoenix. In early June 2016 respondent developed severe headaches and was examined abroad; he was repatriated on June 14, 2016 after a doctor in Puerto Bolivar declared him not fit for sea duties.
Upon arrival in the Philippines on June 19, 2016, respondent reported to the company‑assigned clinic and was given a chest x‑ray, ECG, and prescriptions (including Losartan, Amlodipine, Atorvastatin). On July 11, 2016 he underwent a two‑dimensional ECG and treadmill stress test; despite findings later described as sinus bradycardia and aortic valve sclerosis, the company‑designated physician issued a certificate declaring him fit to return to work on July 12, 2016. Respondent continued to have symptoms and in February 2017 consulted his own physician, Dr. Efren R. Vicaldo, who diagnosed hypertensive cardiovascular disease, mitral regurgitation, and migraine, and certified him unfit for seafaring duties.
Respondent applied for other jobs but remained unemployed and filed a disability complaint against petitioners. He notified petitioners of his willingness to refer the case to a third doctor, but petitioners did not initiate the third‑doctor selection process. The Labor Arbiter, in a February 12, 2018 Decision, dismissed the complaint for lack of merit, finding the repatriation due to migraine (cleared thereafter), and that the cardiovascular disease was neither work‑related nor causal of repatriation.
Respondent appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). The NLRC, in a May 21, 2018 Decision, granted the appeal and ordered petitioners to pay US$60,000 as total and permanent disability benefits plus 10% attorney’s fees, reasoning that the company‑designated physician’s reports were inadequate (unsigned, few examinations, no supporting lab/specialist reports) and that the certificate of fitness was issued hastily, leaving no conclusive medical assessment. Petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA).
The CA, in its August 16, 2019 Decision (denying reconsideration in a November 27, 2019 resolution)...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was respondent’s illness aboard the Water Phoenix work‑related or aggravated by his employment?
- Was the medical assessment by the company‑designated physician a final, complete, and definitive evaluation binding on...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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