G.R. No. 97961 - People vs. Talisic y Villamor

Case Summary (G.R. No. 97961)

Factual Background

Pastor M. Quiambao was continuously employed since 2004 by Centennial Transmarine, Inc. as a messman under contracts approved by POEA and covered by the ITF-CBA. He boarded the MV Bonnie Smithwick on June 5, 2006. In the first week of August 2006, he sustained an accident while carrying heavy food provisions and thereafter experienced severe upper back pain. He consulted the ship doctor and later, on September 5, 2006, was referred to City Med Health Associates in Singapore where x-rays showed lumbar muscular spasm with disc degeneration at L2/L3 and L5/S1 and thoracic spondylosis with disc degeneration from T4/T5 to T7/T8. The attending physician cleared him for light duty but recommended repatriation for further treatment. He returned to the Philippines on September 18, 2006 and was examined by the company-designated physician, Dr. Leticia Abesamis, who on October 2, 2006 diagnosed thoraco lumbar spine nerve impingement, R/O herniated disc, and ordered MRI and further consultation. Pastor continued treatment and on November 7, 2006 filed a complaint seeking permanent disability compensation in the amount of US$78,750.00, sickness wages, damages, attorney’s fees and other benefits.

Trial Court Proceedings

Pastor M. Quiambao claimed that no disability grading was issued by the company-designated physician within the 120- or 240-day period and that his condition worsened, rendering him permanently unfit for sea duties. He presented a medical certificate dated April 17, 2007 from Seamen’s Hospital declaring him unfit for sea service due to work-related total disability. Petitioners contended that his ailment was a pre-existing spinal disc degeneration not work-related, that his duties as a messman did not entail the heavy labor necessary to cause osteoarthritis, and that absence of a Grade I disability assessment by the company physician precluded entitlement to full disability benefits.

Labor Arbiter Ruling

The Labor Arbiter concluded that when an ailment is not listed as occupational in the POEA-SEC, or conditions for compensability are not strictly satisfied, the ailment is still disputably presumed work-related, thereby shifting the onus to the employer to rebut the presumption. The Labor Arbiter found petitioners failed to rebut and held Pastor’s illness work-related and compensable. The Labor Arbiter accepted the Seamen’s Hospital certificate that Pastor suffered total and permanent disability and ordered payment of US$78,750.00 plus ten percent attorney’s fees.

National Labor Relations Commission Proceedings

On appeal, the NLRC in its April 23, 2008 Resolution affirmed the Labor Arbiter. The NLRC found the accident while carrying heavy provisions proximate to Pastor’s injury and gave weight to the Seamen’s Hospital certification of permanent disability, noting consistency with the company-designated physician’s findings and the prolonged treatment under the certifying doctor. Petitioners’ motion for reconsideration was denied in the NLRC Resolution of May 30, 2008.

Court of Appeals Decision

The Court of Appeals, in its February 28, 2011 Decision, held that Pastor suffered from osteoarthritis, an occupational disease listed under the POEA-SEC, and that the condition developed and progressed due to his duties as a messman. It declared the illness work-related and his disability permanent and total for impairing his earning capacity, dismissed the petition, and later denied petitioners’ motion for reconsideration in a Resolution dated August 9, 2011.

Issues Presented

Petitioners raised four principal issues: (1) the actual illness of the respondent on board the vessel; (2) whether the CA erred in affirming compensability despite the illness being not work-related; (3) whether the CA erred in awarding US$78,750.00 absent evidence of Grade I disability; and (4) whether the award of attorney’s fees was proper.

Parties’ Contentions on Appeal

Petitioners maintained that Pastor’s ailment was spinal disc degeneration, not osteoarthritis, and therefore not listed as occupational under the POEA-SEC and not compensable. They argued that more than 120 days of incapacity did not ipso facto entitle Pastor to full disability benefits absent a Grade I assessment by the company-designated physician, citing Vergara v. Hammonia Maritime Services, Inc. Pastor maintained his illness was work-related, that he was not given a disability grading within the prescribed medical period, and that his Seamen’s Hospital certification properly established permanent and total disability.

Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court found the petition without merit and affirmed the CA Decision and Resolution. The Court held that Pastor’s ailment was work-related and compensable, that his disability was permanent and total by operation of law after expiration of the maximum 240-day medical treatment period without a definitive assessment by the company-designated physician, and that the award of attorney’s fees was justified under Article 2208(2) and (8) of the Civil Code.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court observed that petitioners had repeatedly referred to Pastor’s condition as osteoarthritis in their pleadings before the labor tribunals and could not later recant; such pleading amounted to a judicial admission that is conclusive against the pleader. The Court also explained, with medical references in the record, that degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis are related conditions and that spondylosis denotes osteoarthritis of the spine. The Court applied Section 20(B) of the POEA-SEC and Section 32-A(16) which defines osteoarthritis as compensable where employment involves joint strain from carrying heavy loads or other enumerated risks. The Court accepted the factual findings of the Labor Arbiter, NLRC and CA on causation and aggravation given Pastor’s accident while carrying heavy food provisions and the nature of messman duties as set out in the company standing instructions. The Court relied on the settled rule that factual findings of labor tribunals affirmed by the CA are accorded finality.

Application of Statutory Rules on Disability Grading

The Court analyzed Article 192(c)(1) of the Labor Code and Rule X, Section 2 of the Amended Rules on Employees Compensation to conclude that the company-designated physician must arrive at a d

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 97961)

Parties and Procedural Posture

Petitioners are Centennial Transmarine, Inc. and/or Mr. Eduardo R. Jabla, Centennial Maritime Services and MV Bonnie Smithwick.
Respondent is Pastor M. Quiambao.
The case is a Petition for Review on Certiorari from the Decision dated February 28, 2011 and Resolution dated August 9, 2011 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 104798.
The CA affirmed the National Labor Relations Commission Resolutions of April 23, 2008 and May 30, 2008 which in turn affirmed the Labor Arbiter Decision dated July 31, 2007.
The Labor Arbiter ordered payment of disability benefits in the amount of US$78,750.00 and attorney’s fees equivalent to ten percent thereof.

Key Factual Allegations

Respondent was continuously employed since 2004 as a messman for petitioners’ foreign principal and embarked on board MV Bonnie Smithwick on June 5, 2006.
Respondent suffered an on-board accident in the first week of August 2006 while carrying heavy food provisions and thereafter experienced severe upper and lumbar back pain.
Respondent was treated aboard and on September 5, 2006 was referred to City Med Health Associates in Singapore where x-rays showed lumbar muscular spasm with disc degeneration at L2/L3 and L5/S1 and thoracic spondylosis from T4/T5 to T7/T8.
The attending physician in Singapore declared respondent fit for light duties only and recommended repatriation for further treatment.
Upon repatriation to the Philippines on September 18, 2006, the company-designated physician Dr. Leticia Abesamis diagnosed thoraco-lumbar spine nerve impingement R/O herniated disc and ordered MRI and further treatment.
Respondent filed a complaint on November 7, 2006 for permanent disability compensation amounting to US$78,750.00 under the AMOSUP/ITF TCCC CBA, sickness wages, damages and attorney’s fees.

Parties' Contentions

Respondent contended that the lapse of 120 days without a disability grading by the company-designated physician and the worsening lumbar condition rendered him permanently unfit and entitled to full disability benefits supported by a Seamen’s Hospital medical certificate dated April 17, 2007.
Petitioners asserted that respondent’s spinal disc degeneration is a pre-existing condition not work-related and is distinct from osteoarthritis listed in the POEA-SEC as an occupational disease.
Petitioners further contended that the duties of a messman do not involve the heavy physical labor required to contract occupational osteoarthritis and that no Grade I disability assessment was issued by the company-designated physician.
Petitioners maintained that they fulfilled their obligations by providing medical assistance and therefore are not liable for sickness allowance, damages or attorney’s fees.

Rulings Below

The Labor Arbiter rendered judgment on July 31, 2007 holding that respondent’s ailment was disputably presumed work-related, that petitioners failed to rebut the presumption, and that respondent was entitled to US$78,750.00 plus ten percent attorney’s fees.
The NLRC in its Resolution dated April 23, 2008 denied petitioners’ appeal and affirmed the Labor Arbiter’s finding that the accident while carrying heavy provisions was the proximate cause of respondent’s injury and gave credence to the Seamen’s Hospital medical certificate.
The NLRC denied petitioners’ motion for reconsideration in its Resolution dated May 30, 2008.
The Court of Appeals in its Decision d