Third Doctor’s Grading Entitles Seafarer to Permanent and Total Disability

When seafarers suffer injuries at sea, one of the most contested issues is how their disability should be classified — partial, or total and permanent. The Supreme Court recently issued a significant ruling on disability claims of seafarers, emphasizing the importance of clear and conclusive medical assessments. In this case, a seafarer suffered a serious back injury while working onboard a vessel. Despite undergoing treatment and surgery, his condition did not improve, eventually leading to medical repatriation.

Upon return, the company-designated physician assessed the seafarer with only a partial disability rating (Grade 12). Seeking another opinion, the seafarer’s own doctor declared him permanently unfit for sea duty. A third doctor, chosen by mutual agreement, gave a Grade 11 disability rating under the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration - Standard Employment Contract (POEA - SEC) but at the same time described the seafarer as “permanently disabled”. The dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court after conflicting rulings from the labor arbiter, the NLRC, and the Court of Appeals.

The High Court ruled in favor of the seafarer. While the third doctor in its medical assessment declared the seafarer as "permanently disabled" and "grade 11 (slight rigidity or 1/3 loss of motion or lifting power of the trunk)", it left room for varied interpretations whether it qualifies as total and permanent, or partial. Nevertheless, the third doctor did say that the chronic back pain was not responsive to therapy or medications, and that it would be dangerous for the seafarer and others if he returned to work, meaning, he is not fit to return to work anymore. Likewise, the seafarer’s inability to work persisted beyond the 240-day period.

Finally, the Supreme Court highlighted in disability compensation, it is not the injury which is compensated, but rather, the incapacity to work resulting in the impairment of one's earning capacity.

(G.R. No. 266494, April 07, 2025)