Fourth Circuit Summarily Affirms Miner’s Award of Black Lung Benefits (Mud Lick Mining Corp. v. Hash)

On April 11, 2014, in Mud Lick Mining Corp. v. Hash (decision here) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit summarily affirmed a disabled coal miner’s award of black lung benefits.

In a one-paragraph, per curiam opinion, the court held that the Benefits Review Board correctly determined that the ALJ properly weighed the medical evidence and applied the fifteen-year presumption to Mr. Hash’s 2007 claim.

The brevity of the unpublished opinion and the court’s decision to forgo oral argument suggests that the court saw little merit to the company’s arguments.

Congratulations to Ryan C. Gilligan for his success for Mr. Hash.