6th Circuit Rejects Harlan-Cumberland Coal’s Evidentiary and Constitutional Challenges to Miner’s Award

CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court has denied Harlan-Cumberland Coal Co.’s petition for review of a disability award to a miner claiming pneumoconiosis, ruling that sufficient evidence supported an administrative law judge’s award of compensatory benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ unpublished order April 22 affirmed decisions by the ALJ and a Benefits Review Board in favor of former Kentucky miner Franklin Farmer.

The court did not address Harlan-Cumberland’s constitutional challenge to the presumption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) that miners who meet longevity and other criteria are presumed …