Employer Can't Take Offset from Comp Award to Account for Its Payment of Black Lung Benefits

An employer could not avoid having judgment entered against it for payment of the full amount of workers' compensation benefits due to the estate of a dead coal miner despite the fact that it was allegedly due a credit because of its payment of benefits to the estate under the Black Lung Benefits Act, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled. Case: Estate of Burns v. Consolidation Coal Co., No. 5-14-0503, 06/30/2015, published. Facts: Thomas Burns worked as a coal miner for 38 years, retiring in 1985. He died on June 7, 2002, and an autopsy determined that the cause of death was coal workers&#...