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731 PHIL. 609
THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 199022, April 07, 2014 ]
MAGSAYSAY MARITIME CORPORATION, PETITIONER, VS. OSCAR D.
CHIN, JR., RESPONDENT.
DECISION
ABAD, J.:
The Facts and the Case
Thome Ship Management Pte. Ltd., acting through its agent petitioner Magsaysay
Maritime Corporation (Magsaysay) hired respondent Oscar D. Chin, Jr. to work for nine
months as able seaman on board MV Star Siranger.[1] Chin was to receive a basic pay
of US$515 per month.[2] Magsaysay deployed him on July 20, 1996.
On October 22, 1996 Chin sustained injuries while working on his job aboard the
vessel. Dr. Solan of Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, examined him on November 29,
1996 and found him to have suffered from lumbosacral strain due to heavy lifting of
pressurized machine. The doctor gave him medications and advised him to see an
orthopedist and a cardiologist. Chin was repatriated on November 30, 1996.
On return to the Philippines, Chin underwent a surgical procedure called laminectomy
and discectomy L-4-L-5.
A year after the operation, Dr. Robert D. Lim of the
Metropolitan Hospital diagnosed Chin to have a moderate rigidity of his tract.
On August 6, 1998 Chin filed a claim for disability with Pandiman Phils., Inc. which is
the local agent of P & I Club of which Magsaysay Maritime is a member. Pandiman
offered US$30,000.00 as disability compensation which Chin accepted on August 6,
1998. He then executed a Release and Quitclaim in favor of Magsaysay Maritime.
On September 29, 1998 Chin filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations
Commission (NLRC), claiming underpayment of disability benefits and attorney’s fees.
He later amended his complaint to include claims for damages.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed Chin’s complaint for lack of merit. The NLRC affirmed the
dismissal on May 17, 2001. On appeal, however, the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed
the dismissal and ruled that Chin was entitled to permanent total disability benefit of
US$60,000.00. The CA remanded the case to the Labor Arbiter for determination of
the other monetary claims of Chin. This prompted petitioner Magsaysay to come
before this court on a petition for review on certiorari. The Court denied the petition,
however, in a Resolution dated September 8, 2003. This Resolution became final and
executory on February 23, 2004.
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