Lane v. Union Carbide Corp.

• Citation: 105 F.3d 166
• Decision Date: 24 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 95-3131,95-3131
• Parties: William B. LANE, Petitioner, v. UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION; Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, Respondents.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)

Page 166

105 F.3d 166

William B. LANE, Petitioner, v. UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION; Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, Respondents.

No. 95-3131.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued Oct. 31, 1996.

Decided Jan. 24, 1997.

ARGUED: Ray Edmond Ratliff, Jr., Charleston, WV, for Petitioner. Douglas Allan Smoot, Jackson & Kelly, Charleston, WV, for Respondents. ON BRIEF: Mary Rich Maloy, Jackson & Kelly, Charleston, WV, for Respondent Union Carbide.

Before MURNAGHAN and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges, and HARVEY, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge MURNAGHAN wrote the opinion, in which Judge NIEMEYER and Senior Judge HARVEY joined.

OPINION

MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge:

Appellant William Lane, a mine worker, filed a claim for black lung benefits pursuant to the provisions of the Black Lung Benefits Act (the "Act"), 30 U.S.C.A. §§ 901-45 (West 1986 & Supp.1996). An administrative law judge ("ALJ") disallowed the claim on the ground that, although Lane had pneumoconiosis, the disease did not totally disable him from working. The Benefits Review Board ("BRB") affirmed the decision. Because we find that substantial evidence supports the ALJ's decision to deny benefits, we also affirm.

I.

In 1973, Lane's employer, Union Carbide Corporation ("Union Carbide"), removed Lane from working at the face of the mine because the bad dust conditions aggravated his disease. Union Carbide reclassified Lane as a general inside laborer, and he primarily worked as a belt mechanic. He ceased working in December 1983 when Union Carbide laid him off.

Lane filed a claim for benefits under the Act on March 26, 1984. In order to receive benefits under the Act, the applicable regulation provides that the miner's pneumoconiosis must totally disable him from working. See 20 C.F.R. § 718.204 (1996). Beginning in 1974, various doctors examined Lane and issued conflicting reports as to whether Lane's pneumoconiosis totally disabled him from working as an inside laborer.

On April 25, 1974, Dr. D.L. Rasmussen examined Lane and administered pulmonary function studies and arterial blood gas studies that tested Lane both at rest and after exercise. Dr. Rasmussen found that Lane's pulmonary function and resting arterial blood gas studies produced normal results, but the exercise arterial blood gas study revealed a significant impairment. Dr. Rasmussen concluded that Lane had an overall seventy-five percent loss of functional capacity and that he would be incapable of performing steady work beyond sedentary work levels.

On September 5, 1980, Dr. W. Olson examined Lane for the Department of Labor. Dr. Olson performed pulmonary function studies and resting and exercise arterial blood gas studies. Although he diagnosed pneumoconiosis, he found that the results of all of the studies were normal.

On May 11, 1984, Dr. Rasmussen examined Lane a second time on behalf of the Department of Labor. Dr. Rasmussen conducted pulmonary function studies and resting and exercise arterial blood gas studies. He diagnosed pneumoconiosis, and he again found that the pulmonary function and resting arterial blood gas studies yielded "normal" results, but he reported that the exercise arterial blood gas study revealed a marked impairment in Lane's respiratory functional capacity. Dr. Rasmussen concluded that Lane was totally disabled as a result of his pneumoconiosis.

Lane's counsel asked Dr. Dominic J. Gaziano to validate the arterial blood gas studies that Dr. Rasmussen had administered. On November 17, 1984, Dr. Gaziano reported that Dr. Rasmussen's studies were technically acceptable.

Dr. George L. Zaldivar examined Lane on September 18, 1985. He conducted pulmonary function and resting arterial blood gas studies, but he did not perform an exercise arterial blood gas study because of Lane's elevated blood pressure. Dr. Zaldivar diagnosed early pneumoconiosis, but he concluded that the results of all the tests were entirely normal and that no pulmonary impairment resulted from the pneumoconiosis. Dr. Zaldivar also reviewed Dr. Rasmussen's exercise blood gas studies and concluded that the studies were invalid. Dr. Zaldivar thus opined in his report that Lane suffered from no respiratory impairment that would prevent him from performing his usual coal mine work.

Dr. Joseph J. Renn examined all of the medical records in the case and rendered a report on March 19, 1987. On the basis of his review, Dr. Renn diagnosed simple pneumoconiosis, but he concluded that the disease did not prevent Lane from working as an inside laborer at the mine. Like Dr. Zaldivar, Dr. Renn discussed the exercise arterial blood gas studies that Dr. Rasmussen performed, and Dr. Renn concluded that Dr. Rasmussen's exercise study was "suspect for validity."

Dr. Alberto C. Lee examined Lane on June 25, 1987. Dr. Lee performed a physical examination, but he did not order any objective testing. Instead, Dr. Lee reviewed the arterial blood gas and pulmonary function studies of the other physicians who had examined Lane. Dr. Lee diagnosed pneumoconiosis found that the arterial blood gas tests revealed a marked impairment in respiratory function, and concluded that the disease totally and permanently disabled Lane from participating in any type of coal mine work.

Finally, Dr. M. Jamil Ahmed examined Lane on June 23, 1987. Dr. Ahmed conducted pulmonary function and resting arterial blood gas studies, and he concluded that the test results were normal.

An ALJ conducted a hearing and awarded benefits to Lane on March 11, 1988. The ALJ concluded that Lane was totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis. Union Carbide appealed the decision, and the BRB remanded the case on February 22, 1990 for reconsideration of the evidence relevant to the issues of disability causation and total disability.

On remand, the ALJ again awarded benefits to Lane. The ALJ concluded that although the pulmonary function and arterial blood gas studies did not establish total disability, Dr. Rasmussen's medical report did establish total disability. Union Carbide appealed, and the BRB again vacated the ALJ's decision. The BRB affirmed the ALJ's finding that the objective tests failed to establish total disability, but it remanded the claim with instructions to reweigh the medical reports and to decide the disability causation issue. The original ALJ had retired, so the BRB transferred the claim to another ALJ.

On the second remand, the ALJ denied benefits on the ground that, although Lane had pneumoconiosis, it did not totally disable him from working. Lane appealed, and the BRB affirmed the ALJ's denial. The BRB found that the ALJ permissibly credited the medical reports of Drs. Zaldivar and Renn over the reports of Drs. Rasmussen and Lee. Lane filed a motion for reconsideration en banc, and the BRB issued an en banc decision on November 20, 1995 that affirmed the denial of Lane's claim. Lane now appeals.

II.

We review the ALJ's findings, as affirmed by the BRB, to determine whether they are supported by substantial evidence and in accordance with the law. Richardson v. Director, OWCP, 94 F.3d 164, 167 (4th Cir.1996). We may not reweigh the evidence or substitute our views for those of the ALJ, and we must affirm if substantial evidence supports the ALJ's decision. Wyatt v. Califano, 618 F.2d 1079, 1080 (4th Cir.1980). The Supreme Court has defined "substantial evidence" as " 'more than a mere scintilla' " of evidence, but only such evidence " 'as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.' " Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 217, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)).

The benefit eligibility regulations listed in 20 C.F.R. Part 718 apply to claims, such as the instant one, filed after April 1, 1980. Robinson v. Pickands Mather & Co., 914 F.2d 35, 36 (4th Cir.1990). Under Part 718, the miner must prove: 1) that he has pneumoconiosis; 2) that the disease arose out of his coal mine employment; 3) that he is totally disabled from performing his usual coal mining work; and 4) that his pneumoconiosis is a contributing cause of his total disability. See 20 C.F.R. § 718.201-.204 (1996); Robinson, 914 F.2d at 36-38. The sole issue that Lane raises in the instant appeal is whether the BRB erred in finding that substantial evidence supported the ALJ's conclusion that Lane failed to establish total disability.

The applicable regulations provide that a miner is considered "totally disabled" if pneumoconiosis prevents the miner from performing his usual coal mine employment and from engaging in gainful employment in the geographic area that he resides in. 20 C.F.R. § 718.204(b). Section 718.204(c) provides four specific methods for establishing total disability. In the absence of contrary probative evidence, the miner can establish total disability by introducing any of the following: 1) pulmonary function studies that show values equal to or less than the values listed in Appendix B of Part 718; 2) arterial blood gas studies that show the values listed in Appendix C of Part 718; 3) evidence that the miner has pneumoconiosis and suffers from cor pulmonale with right-sided congestive heart failure; or 4) a physician's report based on medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques that concludes that the miner's respiratory or pulmonary condition prevents him from engaging in his usual coal mine employment. 20 C.F.R. § 718.204(c)(1)-(4).

The miner can establish total disability upon a mere showing of evidence that satisfies any one of the four alternative methods, but only "[i]n the absence of contrary probative evidence." 20 C.F.R. § 718.204(c). Thus, if the miner makes such a showing, the ALJ must then determine whether the record...