A seafarer has no obligation to secure the second opinion of his personal doctor if the company doctor issued an incomplete and doubtful assessment.
The Court then ruled that the seafarer’s medical condition is disputably presumed as work-related although not listed as an occupational disease because the illness manifested or was discovered during the term of his contract.What the POEA contract requires is for the company physician to justify the assessment using the medical findings he had gathered during his treatment of the seafarer.
The Court will not hesitate to strike down an incomplete, and doubtful medical report of the company physician and disregard the improvidently issued assessment. As the company physician’s medical evaluation of the seafarer fell short of the parameters provided by law and jurisprudence, the seafarer is deemed totally and permanently disabled as of the date of the expiration of the 120-day period counted from his repatriation.