2020 Black Lung Benefits Rates
This month, coal miners and their families received news that the U.S. Department of Labor increased federal black lung benefits by 2.6%. For a disabled coal…
Silica Dust and Complicated Black Lung Disease: How long before miners are protected?
85% of miners eligible for NIOSH Part 90 free lung screenings don’t participate… …there are 273 cases of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) in this clinic alone…30…
2019 Black Lung Benefits Stuck at 2018 Rates
It’s almost March 2019 and coal miners and their families who receive federal black lung benefits are still waiting on the annual increase in benefits that…
NPR Points to Government Failures in Preventing Black Lung
Today National Public Radio (NPR) is running a powerful story by Howard Berkes, one of their investigative reporters who has been central to documenting the resurgence…
Roundup of Media on Black Lung Disability Trust Fund & Federal Budget
As the end of 2018 approaches, the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is receiving lots of media attention as Congress plays chicken with the deadline to…
Two Courts of Appeals Reject Late-Raised Appointments Clause Challenges in Black Lung Cases (Island Creek Coal Co. v. Wilkerson & Turner Bros., Inc. v. Conley)
The biggest legal issue in federal black lung benefits litigation right now concerns a relatively obscure part of the U.S. Constitution—the Appointments Clause. This past summer,…
Notice Regarding Email Issue and Posts You May Have Missed
For some reason, we were having some issues with emails properly going out to our subscribers for the past few weeks. We think we solved it…
Betty Jean Hall Named as Chairman of Benefits Review Board
Some news came out yesterday about the Benefits Review Board, the Department of Labor’s appellate body that reviews ALJs’ decisions in black lung benefits cases. Secretary…
Wall Street Journal Reports on Staggering Black Lung Epidemic in China
The United States isn’t the only country dealing with a black lung epidemic. A recent report from the Wall Street Journal documents the soaring rate of black…
Department of Labor Issues Final Rule for Standardizing Digital X-Rays in Black Lung Claims
The Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) has issued a final rule regarding the submission of digital radiographs in federal Black Lung claims.…