Seafarer Disability Claims: The 120 and 240-Day Rules

Seafarers on overseas ships have an employment contract with its own terms on sickness and disability, on top of the Labor Code. In Vergara v. Hammonia Maritime Services (G.R. No. 172933, 2008), the Supreme Court said: "Entitlement to disability benefits by seamen on overseas work is a matter governed, not only by medical findings but, by law and by contract."

So two tracks exist side by side:

• The Employees' Compensation program under the Labor Code, paid by "the System". Its rule on permanent total disability is [Article 198 [192]](/law/labor-code/article-198).
• The seafarer's contract claim against the employer, under the contract terms as the Court reads them.

This page explains the 120 and 240-day periods as the Court has set them. It does not give benefit amounts.

Article 198 [192] was Article 192 before the 2015 renumbering. Its list of disabilities deemed total and permanent starts with this paragraph, which the Supreme Court also quoted with the same exception clause in Vergara:

The words "except as otherwise provided for in the Rules" point to the implementing rules. In Vergara, the Court read this paragraph with the implementing rules of the Employees' Compensation program, which allow the benefit for temporary total disability to continue beyond 120 days, but not beyond 240 days from onset, when the injury or sickness still requires medical attendance.

In Vergara, the Court also quoted the contract rule that the seafarer receives sickness allowance until declared fit to work or until the company-designated physician assesses the degree of permanent disability, "but in no case shall this period exceed one hundred twenty (120) days." It then held that if the 120 days pass without a declaration because the seafarer needs more treatment, "the temporary total disability period may be extended up to a maximum of 240 days."

The Court added that a temporary total disability becomes permanent only when the company physician declares it within the allowed periods, or when the 240 days end without a declaration of fitness or of permanent disability. In that case, the seafarer was declared fit to work within the 240 days, and his claim for disability benefits was denied.

After Vergara, rulings on these periods did not all agree. In Elburg Shipmanagement v. Quiogue (G.R. No. 211882, 2015), the Court set four rules for claims of total and permanent disability:

1. The company-designated physician must issue a final medical assessment of the disability grading within 120 days from the time the seafarer reported to him.
2. If the physician fails to give the assessment within 120 days, without any justifiable reason, the disability becomes permanent and total.
3. If the physician fails to give the assessment within 120 days with a sufficient justification, for example because the seafarer needed further treatment or was uncooperative, the period of diagnosis and treatment is extended to 240 days. The employer has the burden to prove the justification.
4. If the physician still fails to give an assessment within the extended period of 240 days, the disability becomes permanent and total, regardless of any justification.

In Elburg, the seafarer kept his award of permanent and total disability benefits. Rulings after 2015 may have refined these rules; they are not covered here.

In Vergara, the Court described the contract rule: "If the physician appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the company-designated physician's assessment, the opinion of a third doctor may be agreed jointly between the employer and the seafarer to be the decision final and binding on them." How the third-doctor rule is applied in later cases is not covered on this page.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Joel, a seafarer, is repatriated with a back injury and reports to the company-designated physician. On day 100, the physician issues a final assessment with a disability grading. The assessment came within 120 days, so rule 1 of Elburg is met. Whether Joel agrees with the grading is a separate question.

Rudy is still under treatment on day 120. The physician's records show he needs surgery and more therapy, and the physician gives a final assessment on day 190. Under rule 3 of Elburg, the period was extended to 240 days because there was a sufficient justification, which the employer must prove.

Edwin reports to the company-designated physician, but no final assessment is ever issued. After 240 days, under rule 4 of Elburg, his disability becomes permanent and total regardless of any justification.

See also the topic page on OFW legal rights.

Seafarer disability claims turn on dates and medical documents: the date you reported to the company doctor, every medical report, and any final assessment. Talk to a lawyer, a seafarers' union or the Public Attorney's Office early, before signing any settlement. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines. For OFW contract claims after a dismissal, see OFW illegally dismissed.