W.Va. Court Affirms Disability Ruling for Mountain Edge Mining Based on Dust Samplings

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has denied benefits to a miner who claimed disability from occupational pneumoconiosis, relying on workplace air samples that never exceeded permissible safety levels.

Claimant Charles J. Adkins asserted that he was exposed to sufficient dust over the course of 14 to 15 years employment with Mountain Edge Mining to link it to his breathing problems.

His claim for benefits for occupational pneumoconiosis was rejected by an administrative law judge, however, and that ruling was affirmed in administrative appeals. Adkins appealed those findings to the Supreme Court of Appeals, arguing that …