8/23/2020
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For this purpose, the seafarer shall submit himself to a postemployment medical examination by a company-designated
physician within three working days upon his return except when
he is physically incapacitated to do so, in which case, a written
notice to the agency within the same period is deemed as
compliance. In the course of the treatment, the seafarer shall
also report regularly to the company-designated physician
specifically on the dates as prescribed by the companydesignated physician and agreed to by the seafarer. Failure of the
seafarer to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement
shall result in his forfeiture of the right to claim the above
benefits.
If a doctor appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the
assessment, a third doctor may be agreed jointly between the
Employer and the seafarer. The third doctor's decision shall be
final and binding on both parties.
4. Those illnesses not listed in Section 32 of this Contract are
disputably presumed as work-related.
For disability to be compensable under the 2010 POEA-SEC, three elements must
concur: (1) the seafarer must have submitted to a mandatory post-employment
medical examination; (2) the injury or illness must be work-related; and (3) the workrelated injury or illness must have existed during the term of the seafarer's
employment contract.
The post-employment medical examination has two requisites: (1) it is done by a
company-designated physician; and (2) within three working days upon the seafarer's
return.[55] Failure to comply with such requirement results in the forfeiture of the
seafarer's claim for disability benefits. There are, however, exceptions to the rule: (1)
when the seafarer is incapacitated to report to the employer upon his repatriation; and
(2) when the employer inadvertently or deliberately refused to submit the seafarer to a
post-employment medical examination by a company-designated physician.[56]
There is no denying that respondent submitted himself to post-employment medical
examination within the required period. However, what is peculiar in this case is that
his examination was confined only to the pain and swelling in his testicles as had been
mentioned in the doctor's referral, as well as for abdominal pain that he informed the
doctor he had been experiencing on and off since March 15, 2012.[57] Respondent
claimed that he brought to the attention of the company-designated physician his back
pains but the company-designated physician refused to examine him for such condition
as it was not the ailment referred to h
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