Atty. Julius Gregory Delgado
STILL ON COMPENSABILITY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS OF SEAFARERS
In last week’s column, we discussed compensability of a psychological disorder of a seafarer as laid down in the case of Darroca, Jr. vs. Century Maritime Agencies, Inc., et al., G.R. 234392 (10 November 2021). In Darroca, Jr., the Supreme Court held that for a psychological disorder to be considered as work-related illness which makes it compensable, it is necessary to present evidence to show his actual duties, the nature of his illness, and other factors that may lead to the conclusion that his work conditions brought about or at the very least, increased the risk of contracting his complained illness.
In Darroca, Jr., the Supreme Court held that the seafarer Darroca, who was diagnosed to be suffering from major depression and psychomotor retardation, failed to outline what his duties were and that his work conditions in the ship MT Dynasty caused his emotional and psychological distress. The Supreme Court even held that even the medical evaluation of his own doctor did not mention anything about his duties as seafarer, or the risks involved thereto, as well as held that the allegation of Darroca that he experienced dizziness when he smells the fumes of chemicals he was working on is insufficient to conclude that his work brought about or increased the risk of his depression.
Another major discussion in Darroca, Jr. is that the Supreme Court disagreed with the finding and ruling of the Court of Appeals that mental diseases must be due to traumatic head injury in order to be compensable. The Supreme Court cited the case of Leonis Navigation Co., Inc. vs. Obrero, G.R. No. 192754 (07 September 2016), wherein the Supreme Court held that the mental disorder of schizophrenia was considered as work-related illness, and is compensable, because it was proven that the demotion of the seafarer from Able Seaman (AB) to Messman caused his emotional and psychological distress:
“Here, we agree with the CA and NLRC that Obrero has successfully proved that his illness was work-related. Taken together, Dr. Salceda’s diagnosis and Obrero’s previous unremarkable stints as a seaman reasonably support the conclusion that his work environment increased his risk of developing or triggering schizophrenia. As detailed in Dr. Salceda’s diagnosis, Obrero’s demotion to messman—which is inherently work-related and was conveniently ignored by LNCI in its pleadings—appears to be the event that precipitated his mental disorder. Prior to this, he was able to accomplish his tasks without any issue as an ordinary seaman (OS) from January 20, 2000 to February 3, 2001, and as an able seaman (AB) from August 12, 2001 to June 27, 2002 and May 14, 2003 to June 11, 2003. It was only after he was deployed as messman onboard M/V Brilliant Arc that he began experiencing sleep interruptions and started having persecutory delusions, ultimately leading to the erratic behavior detailed in the Master Report. Applying the standard of substantial evidence, i.e., that amount of relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion, we find Dr. Salceda’s explanation—that Obrero’s prolonged stint at sea eventually taxed his coping abilities which rendered him incapable of handling the stress of being demoted—to be reasonable and highly probable.”
In another case of Career Philippines Shipmanagement, Inc. vs. Godinez, G.R. No. 206826 (02 October 2017), the Supreme Court held that the seafarer’s grave illness was directly caused by the unprofessional and inhumane treatment, as well as the physical, psychological, and mental abuse inflicted upon him by his superiors, aggravated by the latter’s failure and refusal to provide timely medical and/or professional intervention, and their neglect and indifference to his condition even as it was deteriorating before their very eyes:
“When Godinez applied for work with Career, he was an innocent boy of 20 his stint with Career would be his very first employment as a seafarer onboard an ocean-going vessel. He was lacking in experience and knowledge, yet full of innocence, dreams, idealism, positive expectations, enthusiasm, and optimism. All these were shattered by his horrible experience onboard the ‘M/V Norviken,’ under the hands of Dayo, who unnecessarily exposed the young, inexperienced, and innocent boy to a different reality, a cruel one, and robbed him of the positive expectations and dreams he had coming to his very first job as a seafarer. His uncalled for cruelty broke the heart and spirit of this fledgling until he could no longer take it. The conditions of work, the elements, the environment, the fear and loneliness, the strange surroundings, and the unnecessary cruelty and lack of understanding and compassion of his immediate superior, the weight of all these was too much for the young man to handle. Like a tender twig in a vicious storm, he snapped.
To complicate matters, Godinez was never given medical care onboard as soon as he became ill. The December 24 and 25, 2003 reports of the vessel master, Capt. Vicente A. Capero, sent to Career prove that even as Godinez was already exhibiting the symptoms of a nervous breakdown, his superiors and the crew provided no medical intervention or support. Instead, they ignored him as he wandered aimlessly half-naked around the ship; simply watched him make a fool of himself in front of his peers; and allowed him to precariously roam the ship even as it became evident that he was becoming a danger to himself, the crew, and the ship. In short, he was treated like a stray dog, whose presence is merely condoned. The vessel master’s reaction was not reassuring either: instead of exhibiting compassion and providing needed care, he could not wait to expel Godinez from the ship, because the poor boy’s strange behavior was starting to get on his nerves. We quote him, thus: x x x”
Hence, it is not necessary that for a psychological disorder to be compensable it should have been caused from a head trauma or injury. In the above-mentioned cases, the working conditions and treatment of a seafarer’s peers and superiors may cause the emotional and psychological disorder. If the seafarer will be able to prove that these factors caused his illness or aggravated the same, the psychological disorder may be considered as compensable.