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759 Phil. 514
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 204845, June 15, 2015 ]
BELCHEM PHILIPPINES, INC/UNITED PHILIPPINE LINES,
FERNANDO T. LISING, PETITIONERS, VS. EDUARDO A. ZAFRA, JR.,
RESPONDENT.
DECISION
MENDOZA, J.:
In this petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, petitioners
Belchem Philippines, Inc. (Belchem), United Philippine Lines (UPL) and Fernandino T.
Lising (collectively, petitioners) assail the June 4, 2012 Decision[1] and the December
7, 2012 Resolution[2] of the Court of Appeals (CA), in CA-G.R. SP No. 121629, which
affirmed the May 31, 2011[3] Decision of the National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC) awarding permanent total disability benefits to respondent Eduardo A. Zafra, Jr.
(Zafra). The NLRC decision reversed the October 21, 2010 Decision[4] of the Labor
Arbiter (LA).
The Antecedents
Zafra was hired as a "wiper" by Belchem, through its local manning agent UPL, for a
period of four (4) months under a duly approved contract of employment.
Records reveal that on July 17, 2009, Zafra boarded MT Chemtrans Havel; that on
September 30, 2009, he sustained injuries on his left knee after hitting the floor on his
way to the ship's engine room to check for leaks in the machineries there; that after
being initially examined on October 16, 2009[5] in Amsterdam by a doctor who advised
him to undergo x-ray examination, he was repatriated on October 22, 2009 for further
medical treatment in the Philippines; that on October 22, 2009, upon his arrival in the
Philippines, he immediately reported to the UPL office and was sent to the petitioners'
designated physician, Dr. Robert D. Lim (Dr. Lim), at the Metropolitan Medical Center,
Marine Medical Services; that the attending physician found him to have "probable
Medial Meniscal Tear, Left knee" and "Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear, Left Knee"
which required surgery;[6] that on January 5, 2010, he underwent a procedure known
as "Arthroscopic ACL Reconstruction" costing him more than one (1) week of
confinement and subsequent rehabilitation measures for him to walk again; that on
January 20, 2010, after noting that Zafra's condition improved, Dr. Lim gave an interim
assessment of Grade 10 for the injuries he had suffered;[7] that on April 19, 2010, or
within the 240-day treatment period, the attending doctor, William Chuasuan, Jr. (Dr.
Chuasuan, Jr.), wrote a letter to Dr. Lim stating that the suggested disability grading of
Zafra's injuries was 20% of Grade 10, which under the Philippine Overseas Employment
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