Black Lung Rally in Pikeville, KY
On Saturday, April 9th, a group of coal miners and others held a rally in Pikeville, Kentucky to raise awareness of issues related to black lung. …
U.S. Department of Labor Launches E-Filing for District Directors’ Offices
On Friday afternoon, April 1st, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation (DCMWC) announced the launch of its electronic filing system for…
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…
Jones Act Case Involving Seaman Alleging Lung Disease Caused by Working on Coal Freighter (Spencer v. Grand River Navigation Co.)
Earlier this week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision involving a seaman who filed a claim under the Jones Act…
Sixth Circuit Affirms Miner’s Award of Black Lung Benefits, Holds ALJ Can Give Weight to Doctor Whose Opinion Does Not Address Subsequent Evidence (Lance Coal Corp./Golden Oak Mining Co. v. Caudill)
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a Kentucky coal miner’s award of federal black lung benefits via an unpublished decision. Lance…
Two Medical Literature Reviews on Coal Mine Dust Lung Disease
Two medical journal recently published articles that both provide reviews of the scientific literature on Coal Mine Dust Lung Disease (CMDLD): the umbrella term for lung…
NPR’s Here and Now Covers Black Lung: “The Resurgence of Black Lung in Appalachia”
Earlier today the radio program Here and Now—which runs on National Public Radio—ran a program called “The Resurgence of Black Lung in Appalachia.” The eleven-minute piece…
Kentucky Jury Awards $8 Million in Dust-Mask Case
WYMT reports that a jury in Knott County, Kentucky has awarded a miner with black lung an $8 million verdict in a civil case involving product…
Third Circuit Holds that State Workers’ Comp. Denial Resets Statute of Limitations for Federal Black Lung Benefits Claim (Eighty Four Mining Co. v. Director, OWCP [Morris])
Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential decision holding that a denial of a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claim for black…
11th Circuit Rejects Coal Industry’s Challenge to MSHA’s Dust Rule (National Mining Association v. Secretary)
Breaking news: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected the coal industry’s challenge to the 2014 dust rule by the U.S. Department of…