According to a recent article published in Business Mirror, companies argue that seafarers are not eligible for benefits by pointing to the medical reports that the seafarer’s illness is not work-connected.
Report from company-designated physician
In most of the seafarer’s cases about disability or death benefits, the company usually raise the issue that the medical reports are not liable to pay benefits. The reports are usually provided by company-designated physicians.
As it is well known that the court is not bound by the medical reports to resolve the compensation cases of the Filipno seafarers.
Doctor’s claims and Supreme courts results
The company doctors are bound to tell about the health issues or disability of the seafarers, but the supreme court stressed in several decisions that said the declaration is not conclusive and final upon the court since.
Cases attended with clear bias
Supreme Court noted in Magsaysay v. Buenaventura (GR 195878. January 10, 2018) that the judicial bodies should not adopt the declaration hook, line and sinker as it may be set aside if it is shown that the diagnosis of the company doctor is attended with clear bias, has no scientific basis or is not supported by the medical records of the seafarer. The inherent merit of the case will still be weighed and duly considered.
Court’s decisions on different agencies
For the claims made by an agency on June 17,2015 , the court said that the doctor’s report was not accurate as it was not based on the post medical examination.
For a similar claim made by another corporation on November 12, 2014 , the court discarded the medical opinion as it was given by a physician who did not personally attend the seafarers.
On the claim made by another agency on December 4, 2013, the Court did not give probative weight on the company doctor’s opinion that the seafarer’s condition is not work-related.
About the case that was made on October 13, 2014,the Court sustained the illness’ work-connection as the facts of the case clearly showed the contributory factor of the seafarer’s daily working conditions to the illness suffered, even in the absence of a contrary opinion of other doctors.
On a claim made on June 25, 2014, the Court ruled that it was unnecessary for the seafarer to consult and provide a contrary opinion from his own doctors.
Thus the ruling claims that “disability is intimately related to the worker’s capacity to earn, and what is compensated is not his injury or illness but his inability to work resulting in the impairment of his earning capacity. Thus, disability has been construed less on its medical significance but more on the loss of earning capacity.”
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Source: Business Mirror
