The families of two coal miners are charging that Johns Hopkins University’s Black Lung Program with intent to defraud hundreds of workers from federally earned benefits for work-related disabling lung disease. Appropriate for today’s holiday, both men were U.S. veterans.
Three hours after I wrote this “The US Department of Labor has a plan to eliminate coal mine dust lung disease (a.k.a. black lung.) It’s been stuck in White House review for eight months, under the watch of a reg czar who promised timeliness of reviews,” they announced they were issuing the new rules.
The scheming by Jackson Kelly attorneys to deny coal miners with black lung disease modest compensation is immoral. If coal companies are sincere about their workers being their “most precious resource,” they should dump the law firm.