Sixth Circuit upholds black-lung benefits for widow of deceased Kentucky miner

For coal miners, the years spent underground can have consequences that extend long after their last shift. The fight to have Kentucky miner John Owens recognized for his respiratory disability did not end with his death in 2017 after 26 years of underground work. His widow won another big legal victory nearly a decade later when a federal appeals court affirmed the benefits she was awarded under the Black Lung Benefits Act, rejecting challenges from his former employer and its insurance company.Mining career, benefits fight span decadesOwens, born in 1951, had 26 years of coal-mining employment in Kentucky, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said. He applied for disability benefits on December 22, 2014 and the Department of Labor initially approved his application in September 2016.His former employer, Lodestar Energy Inc., insured by Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance, contested the award and requested an administrative hearing. Owens died on September 15, 2017, before the dispute was settled. His widow, Bonnie Owens, then tracked the case as the claimant, filing her application for survivor benefits on October 30, 2017.The miner’s claim for disability benefits and his widow’s claim for survivor benefits were both part of the consolidated proceedings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said.Medical evidence becomes key to the disputeThe case largely hinged on pulmonary…