Successful Defense of Federal Black Lung Claim

Successfully defended a claim for Federal Black Lung benefits filed by a coal miner with over 10 years of employment in the coal mining industry. ​The miner had been awarded benefits by the Administrative Law Judge, but the defense successfully obtained a reversal of the award on appeal to the Benefits Review Board, which remanded the claim for further findings by the judge. On remand, the defense argued and persuaded the ALJ to find that the miner’s treating physician’s opinion on total disability due to coal workers’ pneumoconiosis was not well-reasoned and could not support an award of benefits to the miner.