The 120/240 days rule in claims for seafarer’s disability benefits

The responsibility of the company-designated physician to arrive at a definite assessment within the prescribed periods necessitates that the perceived disability rating has been properly established and inscribed in a valid and timely medical report.

ACLAIM for total and permanent disability benefits by a seafarer is governed by the 120/240 days rule. The summary of the rule was enunciated by the Supreme Court in Elburg Shipmgt. Phils., Inc.,v. Quiogue, (765 Phil. 341):

1. The company-designated physician must issue a final medical assessment on the seafarer’s disability grading within a period of 120 days from the time the seafarer reported to him;

2. If the company-designated physician fails to give his assessment within the period of 120 days, without any justifiable reason, then the seafarer’s disability becomes permanent and total;

3. If the company-designated physician fails to give his assessment within the period of 120 days with a sufficient justification (e.g., seafarer required further medical treatment or seafarer was uncooperative), then the period of diagnosis and treatment shall be extended to 240 days. The employer has the burden to prove that the company-designated physician has sufficient justification to extend the period; and

4. If the company-designated physician still fails to give his assessment within the extended period of 240 days, then the seafarer’s disability becomes permanent and total, regardless of any justification.

The following requisites must be met in determining the seafarer’s condition: (1) the assessment on the seafarer’s disability grading must be issued within the period of 120 or 240 days, as the case may be; and (2) the assessment must be final and definitive.

The responsibility of the company-designated physician to arrive at a definite assessment within the prescribed periods necessitates that the perceived disability rating has been properly established and inscribed in a valid and timely medical report.

To be conclusive and to give proper disability benefits to the seafarer, this assessment must be complete and definite; otherwise, the medical report shall be set aside and the disability grading contained therein shall be ignored.

A final and definite disability assessment is necessary in order to truly reflect the true extent of the sickness or injuries of the seafarer and his or her capacity to resume work as such.

Failure to do so transforms the temporary total disability to permanent total disability, regardless of the disability grade.

The company-designated physician is mandated to issue a medical certificate, which should be personally received by the seafarer, or, if not practicable, sent to him/her by any other means. Proper notice is one of the cornerstones of due process, and the seafarer must be accorded the same especially so in cases where his/her well-being is at stake.

In Esplago vs NAESS Shipping Phil. Inc (G.R. No. 238652, June 21, 2021), the Supreme Court explained that before declaration and issuance of the final assessment, the seafarer shall be deemed on temporary total disability and shall receive his basic wage until he is declared fit to work or his temporary disability is acknowledged by the company to be permanent, either partially or totally.

In cases where the 120-day period is exceeded and no definitive declaration is made for justifiable reasons, e.g., the seafarer requires further medical attention or is uncooperative, then the temporary total disability period may be extended up to a maximum of 240 days, subject to the right of the employer to declare within this period that a permanent partial or total disability already exists.

To avail of the allowable 240day extended treatment period, the company-designated physician must perform some significant act and keep a record of documents as proof of continuous medical treatment to justify the extension of the original 120-day period. Otherwise, the law grants the seafarer the relief of permanent total disability benefits due to such noncompliance.

The 120/240 days rule on a seafarer’s entitlement to disability benefits for work-related illness or injury was lifted from applicable legal documents summarized by the Court in Jebsen Maritime, Inc. v. Ravena (743 Phil. 371).

By law, the seafarer’s disability benefits claim is governed by Articles 191 to 193, Chapter VI (Disability benefits) of the Labor Code, in relation to Rule X. Section 2 of the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Labor Code.

By contract, it is governed by the employment contract that the seafarer and his employer/local manning agency execute prior to employment, and the applicable POEA-SEC that is deemed incorporated in the employment contract.

Lastly, the medical findings of the company-designated physician, the seafarer’s personal physician, and those of the mutually agreed third physician, pursuant to the POEA-SEC.