Survivor benefits awarded to the widow of a coal miner who developed lung disease after 34 years on the job should have come from the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and not the parent company of the deceased man’s former employer, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
In Apogee Coal Co. et al. v. Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, the federal appeals court said an administrative law judge improperly assigned benefits responsibility to Arch Resources Inc., Apogee’s former parent corporation, and not the federal trust fund.
The 7th Circuit, in vacating the lower ruling, also said the Benefits Review Board erred in affirming the administrative law judge’s determination that Arch Resources was liable for the benefits awarded to Susan Grimes, widow of Harold Grimes, who died from lung cancer in 2018.
The court said the administrative law judge and review board failed to identify any provisions in the Black Lung Benefits Act or its implementing regulations that justify holding Arch Resources responsible for the benefits obligations of Apogee.
The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund pays benefits to injured coal miners if coal companies or their parent corporations are not capable of paying for the cost of benefits.
The 7th Circuit remanded the case to the review board with instructions that Ms. Grimes’ benefits be assigned to the trust fund.