HUSCOAL, INC.; SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY OF
HARTFORD,
Petitioners,
v.
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
PROGRAMS, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR;
BENEFITS REVIEW BOARD; PEGGY CLEMONS, Widow
of and on behalf of James Clemons,
Respondents. |
No. 21-3937 |
On Petition for Review from the Benefits Review Board;
Nos. 20-0377 BLA; 20-0379 BLA.
Argued: July 27, 2022
Decided and Filed: September 7, 2022
Before: GILMAN, GRIFFIN, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. James Clemons died from chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2015. His widow, Peggy Clemons, filed a claim for survivor’s
benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. § 901 et seq., contending that her
deceased husband’s respiratory illness was caused by his coal-mining employment at Huscoal,
Inc. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) granted Clemons’s claim, and the Benefits Review
Board (the Board) affirmed, concluding that the evidence was sufficient to establish the presence
of legal pneumoconiosis. Huscoal and its insurance carrier, Security Insurance Company of
Hartford, petition this court for review of that decision, arguing that the ALJ improperly relied
on a doctor’s opinion that was based on inaccurate information. For the reasons set forth below,
we DENY the petition for review. |