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758 Phil. 540
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 207328, April 20, 2015 ]
WILHELMSEN-SMITH BELL MANNING/WILHELMSEN SHIP
MANAGEMENT, LTD./ FAUSTO R. PREYSLER, JR., PETITIONERS, VS.
ALLAN SUAREZ, RESPONDENT.
DECISION
BRION, J.:
We resolve the present petition for review on certiorari,[1] assailing the March 15, 2013
decision[2] and May 27, 2013 resolution[3] of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No.
127295.
The Antecedents
The case arose from the complaint for permanent total disability benefits, damages and
attorney's fees, filed by respondent Allan Suarez against petitioners WilhelmsenSmith Bell Manning, Inc., (agency), its responsible officer, Fausto R. Preysler, Jr., and its
principal, Wilhelmsen Ship Management, Ltd.
Suarez alleged that he has been continuously hired by the petitioners for five years as
ordinary seaman and has always been assigned to a car ship. His last contract,[4]
approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on May 20,
2010, was for nine months. His employment was also covered by a Model Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen's Union of
the Philippines (AMOSUP).[5] After his pre-employment medical examination, he
boarded the vessel Toreador on May 26, 2010.
Sometime in December 2010, while securing chain lashing heavy equipment on board
the vessel, Suarez suffered severe back pain which radiated to his right abdomen. He
was brought to a medical clinic in Rotterdam, Germany, where he was diagnosed with
Right Pelvoureteric Junction Obstruction. His attending physician declared him unfit to
work.
Suarez was medically repatriated and disembarked from the vessel on December 23,
2010. He immediately reported to the agency and was referred to its accredited
physician at the Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC), Dr. Karen Frances Hao-Quan. Dr.
Hao-Quan initially diagnosed him with "ureteropelvic junction obstruction" (UJO). On
December 30, 2010, he underwent a CT scan of the urography and was continuously
treated as an out-patient.
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