THE Supreme Court (SC) has reversed the earlier rulings of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and the Court of Appeals (CA) and awarded a seaman disability benefits over a blood听 disease contracted at work.
The Supreme Court Third Division, in a decision promulgated on May 22 and published on Monday, overruled the NLRC and CA in finding seafarer Rudy T. Ampolitod to have been exposed to chemicals while working onboard a ship, leading him to develop Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), which rendered him unable to produce healthy blood cells.听
The overturned rulings had cast doubt on whether Mr. Ampolitod had been exposed to the chemicals long enough to develop MDS.
鈥淲e do not agree,鈥 the court said in a 17-page decision written by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan.
鈥淚n the case of Ampolitod, he was hired as an Able Seaman tasked with overhauling, maintaining equipment, as well as chipping rust and painting ship鈥 From the nature of his work, Ampolitod鈥檚 duties clearly exposed him to various industrial solvents, cleaning agents, and chemicals,鈥 the court added.听
The top court ordered Mr. Ampolitod鈥檚 employers to pay a $60,000 permanent disability benefit and legal fees of $6,000.听鈥 Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
