13/01/2026
SUPREME COURT ORDERS P3.3-MILLION COMPENSATION FOR SEAMAN OVER WORK-RELATED INJURY
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a recruitment firm to pay a Filipino seafarer some $60,000 (P3.3 million) in permanent disability benefits over a work-related injury incurred while working on board.
In a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, the SCβs Third Division held BSM Crew Service Centre Philippines, Inc. and its foreign principal, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., liable to pay Ephraim Nabuab, who sustained a shoulder injury due to an accident while on board their vessel.
BSM is a Philippine entity engaged in the recruitment of seafarers for foreign ship management agencies. In 2015 it hired Nabuab as a motorman on board the BSM-manned oil tanker High Enterprise on a nine-month contract.
Sometime in December 2015, Nabuab suffered an accident on board the vessel en route to Europe after he lost balance, slipped, and hit his right shoulder on a metal post. He was given ice and medicines to soothe the pain.
Nabuab was then examined and was diagnosed with "bursitis: shoulder impingement syndrome." He was repatriated to the Philippines and underwent a post-employment medical evaluation at BSM's designated clinic.
He then underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression, debridement, and physiotherapy on his right shoulder. Months later, Nabuab was declared fit to work. But since he was unsatisfied with the findings, he consulted two other doctors, who both reported that he was unfit for seafaring work.
On the basis of these assessments, Nabuab wrote to BSM to protest the alleged non-disclosure of the final medical assessment and to request a third-doctor referral. BSM replied that it duly informed him of the final medical assessment and that it was amenable to a third-doctor referral, subject to submission of the medical reports from Nabuab's own doctors.
He asked BSM to settle the matter through the grievance machinery under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), but BSM refused. This prompted him to file a Notice to Arbitrate with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).
The voluntary arbitrator dismissed his complaint, emphasizing that there was no substantial evidence that Nabuab's shoulder pain is work-related. This paved the way for him to elevate the case before the Court of Appeals (CA).
The CA junked Nabuab's petition, saying he cannot claim benefits under the CBA because there was no report of the alleged accident, according to the shipmaster's attestation.
When brought before the Supreme Court, it ruled in favor of Nabuab, highlighting that the failure of the company-designated physician to furnish a copy of the medical certificate to him gave rise to his entitlement to total and permanent disability benefits.
It cited the case of Gere v. Anglo-Eastern Crew Management, where the SC held that 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 sanctioned by present rules.
It explained that the 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, which the company-designated physician of BSM failed to do.
The highest bench also underscored that verbal notice cannot suffice as a substitute for the requirement of issuance of a final medical assessment, as this is not enough for the seafarer to make an informed decision on the availment of the third-doctor referral.
It also noted that Nabuab is still eligible to receive disability benefits under the POEA-SEC, which applies to work-related illnesses or injuries that existed during the term of the seafarer's employment contract, even if not caused by an onboard accident.
The SC ordered the BSM to pay Nabuab $60,000 or its peso equivalent with 10% attorney fees.
