Case Explained: CONSOL MINING COMPANY, LLC v. DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROGRAMS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; LUKE MAIDEN, JR

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-23 The Fourth Circuit granted the petition for review in part and remanded the case to the Benefits Review Board for further proceedings. The court held that while the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was permitted to discredit expert opinions inconsistent with the Department of Labor’s preamble regarding coal mine dust exposure, the ALJ erred by rejecting the experts’ opinions based on an improper application of that preamble. Specifically, the court found that although the experts correctly noted coal dust cannot cause asthma—a conclusion contrary to the preamble—the ALJ incorrectly extended this inconsistency to reject their broader reasoning that the miner’s condition was caused by non-coal-dust factors or that the disease was not pneumoconiosis given the lack of radiographical indicia and the end of exposure decades prior. The court applied the standard that an expert opinion is only inconsistent with the preamble if it directly contradicts the regulatory guidance, noting that concluding a miner’s disease was caused by something other than coal dust does not inherently conflict with the preamble’s recognition that coal dust can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Because the ALJ’s reliance on this improper reasoning prevented the court from determining whether awarding benefits was a foregone conclusion under the harmless error standard, the case was remanded for reconsideration of the expert testimony and the rebuttal burden under the Black Lung Benefits Act. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.