6/7/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Similarly, in Carcedo v. Maine Marine Phils., Inc.,[34] the seafarer's foot was wounded while on duty. When he was repatriated, the company-designated physician subjected him to a medical examination and subsequently issued a disability assessment stating that the seafarer merely had an "[i]mpediment disability grading of 8% loss of first toe and some of its metatarsal bone." Yet, the seafarer required further medical treatments and underwent amputation. The Court concluded that the company-designated physician's disability assessment was not definitive and, because he failed to issue a final assessment, the seafarer was certainly under permanent total disability. Indubitably, the timely and definite declaration by the company-designated physician is an obligation, the abdication of which transforms the temporary total disability to permanent total disability, regardless of the disability grade. In the instant case, the company-designated physician failed to give a definitive impediment rating on petitioner's disability beyond the extended temporary disability period of over 120 but not more than 240 days. The May 11, 2012 disability assessment issued by the company-designated physician was merely interim because petitioner still experienced recurring pain in his left hand and was required to undergo further therapy sessions even after May 11, 2012. It also bears stressing that when petitioner sought for a grievance conference on July 27, 2012, the period of 240 days had already lapsed on July 24, 2012 without a final and definite disability assessment from the company-designated physician. At that point, the law steps in to consider petitioner's disability as permanent and total.[35] By operation of law, petitioner's total and temporary disability lapsed into a total and permanent disability.[36] Clearly then, the third-doctor-referral provision as provided in the POEA-SEC[37] does not find application in the case at bar. Petitioner's cause of action arose when his disability went beyond the 240-day period without a final assessment having been issued by the company-designated physician. Furthermore, beyond the 240-day period, petitioner was still incapacitated to perform his usual sea duties as he was still feeling persistent pain in his injured hand and was advised to undergo further therapy sessions. Verily, in spite of the lapse of the extended 240-day period, petitioner was still incapacitated to perform his sea duties. Due to the injury he sustained, he could no longer perform his usual tasks as chief cook in any vessel. Thus, it resulted in his unemployment until this very day. As correctly held by the VA, this clearly indicates petitioner's total and permanent disability. In Remigio v. NLRC,[38] the Court held: Thus, the Court has applied the Labor Code concept of permanent total disability to the case of seafarers. In Philippine Transmarine Carriers v. NLRC, seaman Carlos Nietes was found to be suffering from congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy and was declared as unfit to work by the company-accredited physician. The Court affirmed the award of disability benefits to the seaman, citing ECC v. Sanico, GSIS v. CA, and Bejerano v. ECC that 'disability should not be understood more on its medical significance but on the loss of earning capacity. Permanent elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/62342 9/17