A miner for 35 years was granted Employees’ Compensation (EC) disability benefits by the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) for his work-related nasopharyngeal cancer.

The claimant worked in a mining corporation in Baguio City from June 1984 until his retirement in May 2019. Eight months after his retirement, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer. His EC disability benefit was denied by the Social Security System (SSS) on the ground that his illness has no causal relationship with the nature of his work. Moreover, appellant failed to submit documents to substantiate work connection.

The claimant filed an appeal with the Employees’ Compensation Commission. The Commission ruled to grant the appeal. Records showed that appellant was able to provide a certification from the mining company stating among others that he was assigned to woodwork, logging, and carpentry duties from August 1992 to November 2011.

Medical science has established that exposure to wood dust is associated with nasopharyngeal cancer. Thus, the ECC declared that there was a significant probability that the nature of appellant’s job, and the length of his employment where he was assigned to woodworking or logging duties, had caused the development of his nasopharyngeal cancer.

The ECC granted the appellant disability benefits under the EC Program.

More than the provision of compensation benefits to workers, ECC promotes the primacy of prevention of any work-related contingency by complying with Occupational Safety and Health Standards.

 

J. Romasanta – REU 4A