Map of Jurisdictions of U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits

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,…

NPR Story Highlights Four Important Studies About Resurgence of Black Lung Disease

Yesterday, NPR published another article in its series on the recent resurgence of black lung among American coal miners. The piece by Howard Berkes (with help…

Sixth Circuit Upholds DOL Regs for Surface Miners to Qualify for Fifteen-Year Presumption, Affirms Surface Miner’s Award (Zurich American Insurance Group v. Duncan)

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a precedential decision in a federal black lung benefits claim: Zurich American Insurance…

Two Noteworthy Stories and Media Roundup from Last Week About Black Lung Resurgence Article from JAMA

After last week’s important publication in JAMA discussing NIOSH’s unprecedented finding of 416 coal miners with severe black lung—the largest single cluster of black lung ever…

Published Board Decision: How NOT to Apply the Fifteen-Year Presumption (Griffith v. Terry Eagle Coal Co.)

On September 6, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Benefits Review Board issued a precedential decision in Griffith v. Terry Eagle Coal Co., No. 16-0587 BLA…

Map of Jurisdiction of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit

Tenth Circuit Affirms Miner’s Black Lung Award Holding Coal-Mine Dust and Cigarette Smoke Are Additive (Energy West Mining Co. v. The Estate of Morris E. Blackburn )

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a published opinion affirming a coal miner’s award of federal black lung benefits. In Energy…

Detailed Smithsonian.com Article: “Why Black Lung Disease Is Deadlier Than Ever Before”

A couple days ago, Smithsonian.com published a detailed article about the recent resurgence of black lung. The well-done article, titled “Why Black Lung Disease Is Deadlier…

Fourth Circuit Vacates Miner’s Award, Holds that ALJ Erred by Excluding CT Scan Readings, Weighing X-rays by Headcount, and Insufficiently Explaining Weight Given to Medical Opinions (Sea “B” Mining Co. v. Addison)

On Friday, July 29, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a precedential “for publication” decision in Sea “B” Mining Co. v.…

Sixth Circuit Affirms Miner’s Award in Published Decision, Holds ALJ Can Use Internet to Review Medical Literature (Dixie Fuel Co., LLC v. Director, OWCP [Hensley])

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a Kentucky coal miner’s award of federal black lung benefits in a “for publication” decision,…

DOL Publishes Final Black Lung Rule re: Medical Disclosure, Modification, and More

In today’s Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs published its final rule “Black Lung Benefits Act: Disclosure of Medical Information…

Posts tagged ‘Pneumoconiosis’