Federal Court Creates Circuit Split on Liability for Black Lung Benefits

A federal appellate court created a split among the circuits on whether the parent company of a self-insuring coal mine operator can be held liable for black lung benefits owed to a miner. Harold Grimes worked as a coal miner from 1965 to 1999. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016, and he filed a claim for black lung benefits. The Department of Labor determined that Apogee Coal Co. was the only potentially liable employer for the claim. Unfortunately, Apogee had gone bankrupt in 2015 alongside its parent company at the time, the Patriot Coal Corp. Apogee was one of 50 Patriot Coa...