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establish, through substantial evidence, that his illness is work-related.[155]
"Substantial evidence is more than a mere scintilla."[156] It should attain "the level of
relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as sufficient to support a
conclusion."[157]
Madridejos cannot solely rely on the disputable presumption.[158] For his failure to
substantiate his claim that his cyst was either work-related or work-aggravated, this
Court cannot grant him relief.[159]
Accordingly, the disputable presumption "does not allow him to just sit down and wait
for respondent company to present evidence to overcome the disputable presumption
of work-relatedness of the illness."[160] Concomitantly, there is still a need for him to
corroborate his claim for disability benefits.[161]
"A sebaceous cyst is a small, dome-shaped cyst or sac that develops in the skin. It is
filled with a thick, greasy, cream-cheese like substance (called sebaceous material) that
slowly fills up the cyst over many years."[162] It occurs "in a hair follicle, which has a
small duct opening onto the surface of the skin. The duct becomes plugged with a
sticky material and the secretions from the cyst gradually build up and cause it to
expand."[163]
Sebaceous cysts "are usually harmless, but the main risk is infection by bacteria." In
which case, the cysts "become enlarged, red, inflamed and tender."[164] Also, the cysts
may later rupture and discharge "a foul-smelling pus."[165]
An "obtrusive or unsightly" sebaceous cyst can be excised through "a simple operation
for which you will be given a local anaesthetic" where "a simple incision is made in the
skin overlying the cyst, the sac is removed and the wound is closed with stitches."[166]
The findings of the National Labor Relations Commission, as affirmed by the Court of
Appeals, are consistent with the nature of a sebaceous cyst:
It is simply a slow-growing pea-size[d] sac growth under the skin that
develops as a result of infection, clogging of sebaceous glands (oil gland), or
around foreign bodies, such as earrings. It can develop in any part of the
body, and at times it just simply disappears.[167]
Madridejos insists that he suffered an injury in his upper extremities due to an accident
that he had encountered "while doing grinding works . . . on board the vessel."[168] He
alleges that this incident had caused the development of his cyst.[169]
Surprisingly, however, Madridejos argued differently in his Memorandum[170] by saying
that, as found by the National Labor Relations Commission, a sebaceous cyst could
"develop as [a] result of [an] infection."[171] He then shifted to a new contention
blaming the vessel's unhealthy environment as the cause of an infection which might
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