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…
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…
D.C. Circuit Rejects Arch Coal’s Challenge to Black Lung Cases Left by Patriot Coal Bankruptcy (Arch Coal, Inc. v. Acosta)
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued one of its rare decisions relating to black lung benefits. The decision will likely…
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…
JAMA Publishes Finding of 416 Coal Miners with Severe Black Lung; NPR Provides Coverage and Context
A significant finding in black lung research was published today in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The letter (which is embedded below) was…
Fourth Circuit Rejects Coal Company’s Doctor’s FEV1/FVC Theory, Affirms Miner’s Award of Benefits (Westmoreland Coal Co. v. Stallard)
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a precedential “published” opinion affirming a coal miner’s award of federal black lung benefits. In…
Study on Progression of Severe Black Lung Shows Disease Not Being Detected Soon Enough Due to Infrequent X-rays of Coal Miners
Researchers are trying to better understand the resurgence of severe black lung among American coal miners. A study—”Radiographic Disease Progression in Contemporary US Coal Miners with…
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.…