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711 Phil. 614
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 191903, June 19, 2013 ]
MAGSAYSAY MARITIME CORPORATION AND/OR WESTFAL-LARSEN
AND CO., A/S, PETITIONERS, VS. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
COMMISSION, FIRST DIVISION, AND WILSON G. CAPOY,
RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
BRION, J.:
We resolve the present petition for review on certiorari[1] assailing the decision[2] dated
December 18, 2009 and the resolution[3] dated April l9, 2010 of the Court of Appeals
(CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 104859.
The Factual Antecedents
The petitioner manning agency, Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, in behalf of its
foreign principal, co-petitioner Westfal-Larsen and Co., A/S, hired respondent Wilson
G. Capoy as Fitter on board the vessel M/S Star Geiranger for nine months, with a
monthly salary of US$666.00.[4]
Sometime in July 2005, while he was at work, Capoy allegedly fell down a ladder from
a height of about two meters. He claimed that he immediatetly felt numbness in his
fingertips that gradually extended to his hands and elbows. Despite the incident, he
continued performing his work. On August 15, 2005, while climbing a flight of stairs,
he again fell from a height of one meter. He claimed that he could not tightly hold to
the railings of the stairs due to the numbness of his fingers and that he felt electricitylike sensation in his body, legs and hands.
After being first examined by Dr. Dietmar E. Raudzus in Vancouver, Canada, Capoy was
referred to Dr. Charles Tai, also in Vancouver. Dr. Tai assessed Capoy to be suffering
from C-spine disease with bilateral sensory symptoms and upper neuron disorder. Dr.
Tai expressed concern that Capoy had a central cord problem requiring an urgent
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He found Capoy unfit to work and advised him
not to return to work until the examination was complete.[5] Subsequently, Capoy was
referred to Dr. J. Clement of the CML Health Care, still in Vancouver, for further
examination. Dr. Clement’s "impression"[6] of Capoy’s condition substantially confirmed
Dr. Tai’s assessment.
On August 31, 2005, Capoy was medically repatriated. The following day, he reported
to the company-designated physician, Dr. Sussanah Ong-Salvador of the Sachly
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