Case Digest (G.R. No. L-12593)
Facts:
Blue Bar Coconut Company v. Clemente C. Lugod, G.R. No. L-12593. April 17, 1959, the Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, A., J., writing for the Court.
Petitioner Blue Bar Coconut Company is the employer; respondent Clemente C. Lugod is a former laborer who filed a claim for compensation with the Workmen’s Compensation Commission.
Lugod was employed by the company from 1947 until June 5, 1952 as a thread carrier. The Commission found that his duties required carrying a steel “banera” weighing 15–20 kilos empty and about 50 kilos when loaded, over a distance of about 12 meters, then lifting and dumping its contents onto a knee-high platform more than 100 times per eight-hour day. The place of the dry feeders was significantly hotter than the grinder, exposing Lugod to continuous temperature changes.
Medical history: Lugod was examined by the company physician, Dr. Artemio U. Masangkay, before employment and in yearly examinations; he was consistently found fit until the December 1951 periodic exam, when he was labeled a TB suspect but was nevertheless allowed to continue working. Previously, in June 1950 he had been hospitalized for a stab wound, which healed. On June 5, 1952, while performing his duties, he felt back and chest pains, weakness, and spat blood. The company granted him a one-year leave.
Subsequent treatment: Lugod was examined again (October 14, 1952) and later treated under private physicians and at the Quezon Institute, where he underwent bronchoscopy and decortication and was discharged January 4, 1956. Medical reports (Physician’s Report of Sickness or Accident, July 23, 1955, and an X‑ray of August 23, 1955) diagnosed moderate-to-advanced pulmonary tuberculosis with active disease on the right lung.
The Workmen’s Compensation Commission concluded that Lugod’s tuberculosis resulted from the nature of his employment (either caused or aggravated by it) and ordered the company to pay compensation, reimburse medical expenses, and furnish treatment until the tuberculosis was arrested. The company contested causation, arguing non-occupational causes (including prior wound infection), but the Comm...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the Workmen’s Compensation Commission’s finding that Clemente C. Lugod’s tuberculosis was caused or aggravated by his employment supported by evidence such that it should be upheld?
- If so, was the Commission’s award of compensation, medical expenses, and treatment proper under the Work...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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