W. Va. Appeals Court Upholds Denial of Benefits to Coal Miner’s Widow

WHEELING, W. Va. — A West Virginia appeals court has upheld denial of a widow’s request for her late husband’s disability benefits, finding she failed to present sufficiently credible evidence that her husband’s death was caused by occupational pneumoconiosis.

The evidence in the record shows that the decedent’s death was caused by colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver and lungs, rather than occupational pneumoconiosis, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 10.

Richard Duffield worked as an underground coal miner for more than 10 years for companies that included Sun Coal Co. He stopped working …