Black Lung Benefits Act - Defining "Totally Disabled Due to Pneumoconiosis"

The Black Lung Benefits Act does not provide benefits for a partial disability. Rather, in order to recover under the Act, a miner must be totally disabled as a result of pneumoconiosis. The miner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that he is "totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis," although this responsibility is somewhat tempered by certain presumptions.

Pediatric Consultative Examination Reports

A medical professional who has been tapped by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to conduct a consultative examination of a child must include certain information in his report. The SSA mandates that the report containing an assessment of the child's history, examination, and any laboratory findings be consistent with the format for reporting results used for complete internal medicine examinations. The report must be thorough and complete in order to provide the SSA with the necessary information to determine the nature, duration, and severity of the child's impairment as well as the limitations that such impairment places on the child.

Implementation of Workers' Compensation Policies and Procedures

The escalation of workers' compensation claims and, by correlation, premiums, makes it vital that employers create and implement policies and procedures to effectively address disability management and comply with state and federal law. These policies and procedures should be reduced to writing for reference and to ensure their consistent application.

Meaning of "Miner" for Purposes of Black Lung Benefits Act

The Black Lung Benefits Act provides for total disability claims for United States miners suffering from pneumoconiosis (aka black lung disease), which was contracted due to their employment. Originally, a "miner" was considered to be a person who was employed in an underground coal mine. However, subsequent amendments to the Act deleted the "underground" requirement so that miners working in above-ground environments would also be covered.

Insurance Carrier Conflict of Interest

In the arena of workers' compensation and subrogation, the employee may be significantly impacted by the workers' compensation carrier's conflict of interest. The most negative impact would be found in those states denying the injured employee the right to maintain an action against the third party who actually caused his injury. Essentially, the carrier's principle conflict would arise when it is not only the employer's workers' compensation carrier but also the liability carrier for the third party. When this happens, the carrier's interest in paying as little as possible for the claim may be in competition with the employee's right to receive the best recovery possible.