Black Diamond Coal Mining Company v. Benefits Review Board

RONEY, Circuit Judge:

Under the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act, a coal miner is presumed to be totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis arising out of his employment if he has been engaged in coal mining for 10 years and diagnosed as having a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. For the purposes of the Act, pneumoconiosis is defined as a chronic dust disease of the lung arising out of coal mine employment. The employer may rebut the presumption by showing that the disability did not arise in whole or in part out of the coal mine employment, or by establishing that the miner did…