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…
Lung Transplants for Miners with Black Lung: New Research Shows More Transplants Being Done, Most Transplants Being Paid for by Public Dollars NOT by the Coal Industry
I have been slow to post about a recent piece of medical research about the increasing rates of lung transplants for miners with black lung. Initially,…
Federal Black Lung Benefits Rates for 2016: Benefits Increase By 1%
Recently the U.S. Department of Labor increased by 1% the modest amount of money that disabled coal miners and their families who receive federal black lung…
Environmental Health Perspectives publishes article: “A Scourge Returns: Black Lung in Appalachia”
The resurgence of black lung has made the cover of Environmental Health Perspectives, a widely-read journal published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.…
Road-Construction Driller Awarded Federal Black Lung Benefits (Pennington v. Director, OWCP)
Most black lung claims are based on work that is undebatably in a coal mine. However, some individuals end up with breathing problems and attribute it…
Fourth Circuit Summarily Affirms Three Black Lung Awards (McElroy Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP [Wnek], McElroy Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP [Kennedy] & Consolidation Coal Co. v. Varner)
In the past week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit summarily affirmed awards of federal black lung benefits to two coal miners. These…