Black Lung Disease (Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis)

Black lung disease is the common name for coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Breathing coal mine dust for years causes dust to lodge deep in the lungs, where it triggers inflammation and scarring. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a persistent cough, and reduced ability to work or exercise. The most severe form, progressive massive fibrosis, can be fatal. There is no cure, and the damage cannot be reversed.

Black lung is mainly handled through a federal benefits system rather than class actions. The Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901 and following sections, provides monthly payments and medical coverage to coal miners who are totally disabled by pneumoconiosis arising from coal mine work, and to certain survivors of miners who died from it. Claims are filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and are usually paid by the mine operator or its insurer, or by a federal trust fund when no responsible operator can pay.

Miners and their families sometimes also bring lawsuits, for example against makers of respirators and dust masks that allegedly failed to protect workers, or over state workers' compensation benefits. These are individual cases with strict deadlines.

A close cousin of black lung is silicosis, caused by crystalline silica dust. It has become a major litigation area for workers who cut engineered stone countertops; see our page on silicosis countertop lawsuits. For the difference between group cases and individual injury claims, read class action versus mass tort.