Whittaker v. Wagner

OPINION OF THE COURT

Claimant worked in the underground coal mines for 16 years and was last exposed to the hazards of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis on April 28, 1989. There was conflicting evidence concerning both the presence of pneumoconiosis and the cause of claimant’s respiratory impairment. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) reviewed the x-ray evidence and chose to believe claimant’s experts regarding the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. The ALJ noted that claimant’s largest FVC value exceeded 80% of the predicted normal. However, the largest FEV1 value was less than 55% of the predicted…