pdf Black Lung Benefits Act (Litigator Series) (English Edition)

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of 32 U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and interpret provisions of the Black Lung Benefits Act. The selection of decisions spans from 2011 to the date of publication.

Pneumoconiosis, commonly known as "black lung," is a progressive and irreversible pulmonary condition that can afflict those regularly exposed to coal dust. Mullins Coal Co. v. Dir., OWCP, 484 U.S. 135, 138, 108 S.Ct. 427, 98 L.Ed.2d 450 (1987). In recognition of the effects of this disease, Congress adopted the BLBA to require private coal companies to compensate miners and their families. Id. at 138-39, 108 S.Ct. 427. The BLBA permits coal workers or their surviving dependents to apply for benefits by filing a claim with the District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs ("Director"). 20 C.F.R. §§ 725.301-725.423. In order to award benefits, the Director must find that the coal worker has pneumoconiosis arising out of his or her coal mine employment, is totally disabled, and the pneumoconiosis substantially contributed to the worker's disability. Id. § 725.202(d). Fox ex rel. Fox v. Elk Run Coal Co., Inc., 739 F. 3d 131 (4th Cir. 2014).

The BLBA provides lifetime disability benefits to coal miners who develop pneumoconiosis as a result of prolonged exposure to coal dust from working in coal mines. 30 U.S.C. §§ 901-944 (2013). The statute also provides survivors' benefits to the dependents of coal miners who received benefits under the BLBA during their lifetime upon the miner's death. Id. Consolidation Coal Company v. Maynes, 739 F. 3d 323 (6th Cir. 2014).

[I]n 1981 Congress revisited the law, revising § 932(l) and imposing a new causation burden on surviving dependents. Most recently, the Black Lung Benefits Act was amended by the Affordable Care Act, which eliminated the relevant causation requirement by reinstating 30 U.S.C. § 932(l) as it had existed before the 1981 amendments. [A] survivor who was denied benefits under the pre-ACA statutory scheme can submit a subsequent claim for consideration under the amended version of the statute. Jim Walter Resources v. Director, OWCP, 766 F. 3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2014).

. . .