SC denies seaman’s benefits
THE SUPREME COURT (SC) has affirmed a Court of Appeals (CA) ruling dismissing the claim of a seafarer’s widow to Social Security System (SSS) death benefits, failing to prove an employer-employee relationship with a shipping firm when her husband died.
In an eight-page resolution, the SC said the widow of the seaman in this case failed to provide evidence that her husband’s accident in 1994 that resulted in a contusion in his left lumbar was the cause of his death six years later.
Also, the High Court affirmed the CA ruling that upheld the SSS finding that the widow had failed to prove her husband’s employer-employee relationship with Philimare Shipping, Inc. at the time of his death.
It cited that the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) had also denied the death benefits claim, since her husband stopped working as a seaman until the time of his death.
The commission had ruled that there was no proof that the seaman was suffering from a lung ailment at the time he was onboard a vessel. The High Court noted that the widow failed to include certified true copies of the ECC’s decision in her claim.
“Clearly, petitioner failed to substantiate her claim that her husband’s accident in March 1994, which led to a contusion on his left lumbar, ultimately led to his death in December 2000 due to tuberculosis,” the SC ruling stated. — John Victor D. Ordoñez