Stephens and Stephens black lung claim attorney Hugh Stephens represents eligible black lung miners and survivors in filing for black lung benefits. If your loved one died of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, you might be eligible for black lung monthly cash payments. The act defines a covered survivor as “an individual who is a survivor of a covered individual whose claim under this Act was still pending at the time of the covered individual’s death, and who continued to seek an award with respect to the covered individual’s claim after the covered individual’s death.” Eligible black lung survivors may include the miner’s spouse or divorced spouse, children, parents, disabled family members, etc. The amount of benefits a survivor is eligible for depends on the number of dependents the survivor has.
How much money does a black lung survivor get?
If the miner has a surviving spouse or divorced spouse, the spouse’s benefit is equal to what the miner would have received and may increase depending on the number of the claimant’s dependents. For instance, in 2026, the eligible surviving spouse is awarded monthly payments of $793.60. If the spouse has one eligible dependent, the amount increases to $1,190.30; those with two dependents receive $1,388.70; and those with three or more dependents receive $1,587.10 monthly payments. The payments are 37.5% of the base salary of a GS-2, Step 1 federal employee and are slightly adjusted annually. When the federal employee pay scale receives a cost-of-living adjustment from Congress, black lung payouts increase by that same percentage.
In the absence of a surviving spouse, benefits are awarded to the surviving minor children in equal shares. If there are no surviving minor children, benefits may be paid to the miner’s dependent parents or siblings. If the miner has no eligible survivors, no benefits are paid upon the miner’s death, and benefits are not awarded to any other person, even if such a person is named by the miner in a will. These payments are funded either by the specific coal mining company that employed the miner or by the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund if the mining employer has gone bankrupt or cannot be identified.
Survivor benefits are calculated using the same rate tiers that applied to the miner during life. Offsets also apply to survivor benefits. For example, if the surviving spouse receives state workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, or state disability payments related to the miner’s condition, the federal black lung payout will be reduced by the amount of those payments. If a survivor claim is accepted under the black lung act, the benefits are payable retroactively beginning with the month of the miner’s death.
Who are eligible black lung survivors?
A divorced spouse is only eligible for black lung benefits if the miner was married to the divorced spouse for at least 10 years and the divorced spouse was dependent on the miner for at least half of the spouse’s support at the time of the miner’s disability. The monthly payout increases if the surviving spouse has eligible dependents, such as unmarried children under 18 or disabled adult children.
A child is considered a dependent if the child is under 18 years and unmarried, the child is disabled, as defined under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or is under age 23 and a full-time student.
A miner’s parents may also be eligible for compensation if they relied on the miner prior to his or her death. If there are no surviving spouses, children, or parents, brothers/sisters who were fully dependent on the miner, they may file for benefits.
How do you prove eligibility for black lung survivor benefits?
To be awarded black lung survivor benefits, the survivor must prove that the miner suffered from Black Lung, that the disease arose out of coal mine employment, and that the miner’s death was substantially due, in part, to Black Lung. The claimant may provide evidence as follows:
- The claimant must establish eligibility and their relationship with the deceased miner by submitting documents, such as marriage/divorce certificates, proof of school enrollment for dependent children, birth certificates, death certificates, and relevant medical records. These documents are necessary to establish basic facts about the claimant’s entitlement to benefits.
- Claimant must also provide evidence that the miner died of black lung disease or pneumoconiosis or that the miner’s pneumoconiosis was a substantially contributing factor to the miner’s death.
If a miner has worked for 15 years, and his or her x-ray, CT scan, biopsy, autopsy, or other medically accepted and relevant test or procedure establishes that the miner is suffering or has suffered from a chronic dust disease of the lung, diagnosed as complicated pneumoconiosis or progressive massive fibrosis, then there shall be an irrebuttable presumption that such miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, that the miner’s death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of death the miner was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis, as the case may be. If the miner’s employment does not meet the required 15-year irrebuttable presumption, the claimant may be required to establish causation through a qualified doctor’s opinion.
Statute of limitations for filing a black lung survivor claim
A miner must file a black lung claim within three years after a medical determination of total disability due to pneumoconiosis has been communicated to the miner or a person responsible for the care of the miner. However, there is no time limit on the filing of a claim by the survivor of a miner.
Black Lung Claim Application Process
If the miner was already officially receiving federal black lung disability benefits at the time of his or her death, the surviving spouse often automatically qualifies without having to file a completely new medical claim. If the miner’s claim was denied, the survivor may be required to file a new claim for benefits. In such cases, the survivor may require the services of an experienced attorney to prove the claim. This is because a black lung litigation process is notoriously complex and highly contested by mining companies seeking to avoid liability.
The following documents are required when filing a black lung claim:
- The claimant must submit Form CM-912 (Survivor’s Claim for Benefits) along with Form CM-911a to outline the deceased miner’s comprehensive employment history.
- The survivor must attach evidence of survivorship, such as certified copies of death certificates, marriage/divorce certificates, and children’s birth certificates.
- Medical evidence must be provided to prove the miner suffered from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis or black lung disease, which caused or contributed to the miner’s condition, such as autopsy reports, death certificates, or past pulmonary function tests proving the severity of the miner’s condition.
Once the claimant has submitted all necessary documentation and sufficient evidence, the claims examiner reviews it and issues a final decision, known as the Proposed Decision and Order (PDO). Either party can appeal the decision if dissatisfied. Once appealed, the claim is forwarded to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for a formal hearing. An ALJ decision is appealed to the Benefits Review Board. If dissatisfied, a claimant may appeal a Board’s decision to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the claimant’s geographic region. A claimant may also withdraw a claim and file in the future once the claimant has gathered sufficient evidence.
Hire a black lung survivor claim attorney
The Department of Labor encourages survivors to seek advice from an experienced Black lung attorney for representation and guidance throughout the claims process. Hugh Stephens represents eligible black lung claimants in filing successful claims. You can contact Mr. Stephens on his cell phone at (716) 208- 3525 for help filing or appealing a wrongfully denied miner or survivor black lung claim. An attorney’s fees are paid only if a claim is approved. Also, the coal company is liable for the claim, or the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund pays attorney fees for approved claims. Thus, a survivor is not liable for any attorney’s fees if the claim is denied.