Arch on the Green, Inc. v. Groves

Groves worked as a strip miner for more than 20 years and a smoker who accumulated more than 50 pack-years. His first claim for black lung benefits, in 1998, was denied. Groves filed his current application in 2006. The ALJ awarded benefits in 2009. The Benefits Review Board vacated and remanded so that the ALJ could provide more detailed explanations. On remand, the ALJ again granted benefits after a careful review of the medical opinions of several different doctors who evaluated Groves’ lung disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The Board affirmed. The Sixth Circuit remanded. While substantial evidence supported the determination that Groves’s COPD arose at least in part out of coal mining employment, the ALJ apparently did not apply the correct standard in determining that his total disability was due to pneumoconiosis.View "Arch on the Green, Inc. v. Groves" on Justia Law