7th Circuit Finds Retired Miner Entitled to Black Lung Benefits Despite Smoking Habit

July 25, 2024
Hall Benefits Law, LLC

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld a review board decision awarding black lung benefit for a retired miner who smoked cigarettes during his 18-year career in the mines. The Court stated that it would not overturn the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) medical findings since the record contained substantial evidence to support the ruling. The case is Safeco Insurance/Liberty Mutual Surety v. OWCP, case number 23-1083, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and its subsidiary, Safeco Insurance, arguing on behalf of former miner Richard McLain’s now-defunct employer, Old Ben Coal Co., claimed that the ALJ treated medical findings in the Black Lung Act’s regulatory preamble as binding law. However, the Seventh Circuit disagreed, stating that the medical findings stated in the preamble were discretionary, not mandatory. The panel further noted that ALJs were free to reject or accept the medical findings in the preamble, depending on whether they found them persuasive. As the Seventh Circuit pointed out, accepting the medical findings in the preamble does not constitute a legal error.

Next, the panel rejected the insurance company’s argument that the ALJ ignored a 2020 expert opinion that McLain was not wholly disabled. While one expert may have given that opinion, the record contained significant other evidence to the contrary, including two earlier reports from the same expert.

Finally, the ALJ’s conclusion that only coal dust, not cigarettes, could have caused McLain’s condition was also legally sound. Under the Black Lung Act, a claimant’s pulmonary disorder must only be “significantly related to or substantially aggravated by” coal dust exposure from working in the mines. Even if the evidence showed that smoking contributed to his pulmonary disorder, if coal dust played an important contributing factor, McLain was entitled to black lung benefits.

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Hall Benefits Law, LLC

HBL offers employers comprehensive legal guidance on benefits in mergers and acquisitions, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), executive compensation, health and welfare benefits, healthcare reform, and retirement plans. We counsel a wide spectrum of clients including small, mid-sized, and large companies, 401(k) investment advisors, health insurance brokers, accountants, attorneys, and HR consultants, just to name a few. HBL is passionate about advising clients, and we are dedicated to our mission: to provide comprehensive, personalized, and practical ERISA and benefits legal solutions that exceed client expectations.

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