Administrative – Black Lung benefits award is affirmed

Where an administrative law judge considered the reports of the coal mine owner’s experts and sufficiently explained why she rejected their reasoning when she concluded the owner failed to rebut the presumption that the miner has legal pneumoconiosis, her decision was affirmed.

Background

An administrative law judge, or ALJ, entered an order awarding Harold Baisden Black Lung benefits on March 15, 2023. Because Baisden was entitled to a presumption that his lung disease was caused by pneumoconiosis, the question before the ALJ was whether the responsible coal operator, Wolf Run Mining Company, successfully rebutted that presumption. The ALJ concluded it did not do so. The Benefits Review Board, affirmed the ALJ.

Preamble

The Preamble to the 2000 Regulations Implementing the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 acknowledges that coal dust and smoking can both cause lung disease and that a history of smoking does not preclude a finding of legal pneumoconiosis. The ALJ discredited the opinions of Dr. Jarboe and Dr. Ranavaya because they failed to consider the additive risks of smoking and coal dust, and they did not adequately explain why coal dust was not a cause of Baisden’s lung impairment.

Petitioner argues that the ALJ’s rulings misapplied the Preamble by turning it into a “rule that . . . smoking and coal mining [are] always additive risks.” According to Petitioner, such a rule is improper because “it switches the burden of proof” and requires the employer to rebut coal dust as a cause in every case. Petitioner’s argument is misplaced.

The decision upon which it relies (American Energy), however, was a non-presumption case. Here, Baisden enjoys a presumption that his 27 years of coal mine work caused his pneumoconiosis — i.e., that his lung impairment was caused by coal dust. Although Dr. Jarboe and Dr. Ranavaya concluded that Baisden’s lung impairment was caused instead by smoking, they did not explain why coal dust was not also a cause.

This fact undercuts petitioner’s argument. As the ALJ explained, the opinions of Dr. Jarboe and Dr. Ranavaya are insufficient to rebut the presumption because the Preamble concludes that coal dust and smoking are additive causes. While American Energy held that in a non-presumption case, it would be improper for the ALJ to shift the burden to the employer to demonstrate why coal dust did not cause the impairment, that rule has no application in a presumption case like this one.

Sufficiency

Petitioner next argues that the ALJ erred by not fully considering the opinions of Dr. Jarboe and Dr. Ranavaya before discrediting them. This court disagrees. The ALJ spent five paragraphs of her decision discussing each rationale Dr. Jarboe offered for his conclusion that Baisden’s lung impairment was caused by smoking. The ALJ simply was not convinced by those rationales.

Petitioner further argues that the ALJ’s reasoning for rejecting Dr. Jarboe’s FEV₁/FVC analysis was legally flawed because she did not consider the medical evidence in the literature Dr. Jarboe cited. According to Dr. Jarboe, medical literature supported his conclusion that exposure to coal mine dust results in a parallel reduction in FEV₁ and FVC (or even a greater decline in FVC) while cigarette smoking results in a disproportionate reduction in FEV₁ as compared to FVC.

Significantly, however, Dr. Jarboe relied largely on studies that were conducted before the 2000 Preamble. As a result, those studies — and Dr. Jarboe’s analysis — conflict with the view of the Department of Labor, as expressed in the Preamble, that FEV₁/FVC ratios are not a reliable method of establishing causation.

As to Dr. Ravana, the ALJ was required to presume that coal dust was a cause of the impairment. To overcome that presumption, Dr. Ranavaya needed to exclude coal dust as a cause, rather than simply include smoking induced asthma as a cause of Baisden’s lung disease. He did not do so.

At bottom, the ALJ did all that was required. She demonstrated that she considered the reports and thoroughly explained why she rejected the reasoning of petitioner’s experts. Her finding that petitioner failed to rebut the presumption that Baisden has legal pneumoconiosis is supported by substantial evidence.

Petition denied.

Wolf Run Mining Company v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Case No. 24-2262, April 7, 2026. 4th Cir. (Thacker), from an Order of the Benefits Review Board.  William Steele Mattingly or Petitioner. Brad Anthony Austin for Respondent. VLW 026-2-118. 16 pp.

Full-Text Opinion

VLW 026-2-118
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