Lovilia Coal Company and Bituminous Casualty Corporation v. Verda M. Williams and Office of Workers' Compensation Programs

COFFEY, Circuit Judge.

On November 23, 1990, Billie Williams (“Williams”) filed a claim for workmen’s compensation benefits pursuant to the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. § 901. Williams, who suffered from pneumoconiosis, or “black lung disease,” died on July 31, 1992, before his claim was fully processed. Williams’s widow, respondent Ver da Williams, continued to pursue her husband’s claim. Petitioners Lovilia Coal Company (“Lovilia”) and Bituminous Casualty Corporation (“Bituminous”) contested the claim in a hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) on March 19, 1994. The ALJ…