Opinion ID: 2966818
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Evidence Offered by Newport News

Text: The only issue to be resolved by the ALJ was whether Newport News was entitled to § 908(f) relief, shifting the liability for the Claimant's permanent disability to the special fund after two years. Newport News asserted that such relief was warranted because the Claimant's disability was not caused solely by the asbestosis, but was exacerbated by two pre-existing conditions. In support of its request for limitation of its liability pursuant to § 908(f), Newport News initially submitted a letter from its in-house physician, neurologist-psychiatrist Dr. James H. Hall III. Based on his review of the Claimant's medical records but without examining him, Dr. Hall opined that the Claimant had pre-existing disabilities in the form of hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pleurisy-related lung scarring/interstitial fibrosis. Letter from Dr. Hall to Mr. Paul Hartmann of Oct. 13, 1992, at 1 [hereinafter first Dr. Hall letter]. Dr. Hall opined that the Claimant's lung impairment, AMA rating and disability were not caused by his asbestosis alone, but were materially contributed to and materially and substantially caused by his preexisting hypertensive cardiovascular disease and lung scarring/ interstitial fibrosis. Dr. Hall stated that, if the Claimant merely had asbestosis, his disability and impairment rating would have been significantly less. See id. at 2. More than a year later, shortly after the hearing before the ALJ and following this Circuit's decision in Harcum, Newport News filed with the ALJ a second letter from its medical departmentsupplement[- ing] the earlier letter. See letter from Dr. Hall to Mr. Hartmann of Nov. 30, 1993 [hereinafter second Dr. Hall letter]. The supplement quantified the Claimant's disability as the agreed-upon 28 percent AMA rating, and opined that if the claimant only had asbestosis, his AMA rating would be no more than 10%. See id. at 1. This opinion was based not on an independent evaluation of the seriousness of the Claimant's asbestosis or the degree of the disability caused by that asbestosis, but rather on the long-standing x-ray evidence of prior lung scarring before the asbestosis, and the pulmonary impairment such scarring causes. Id. In his Decision and Order, the ALJ accepted Dr. Hall's opinion that the Claimant suffered from hypertensive cardiovascular disease and 7 from pulmonary pleurisy, which left a permanent and serious interstitial fibrosis in the worker's lungs. Carmines v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., No. 93-LHC-1051, slip op. at 6 (Oct. 11, 1994). Crediting Dr. Hall's uncontested opinion, which is persuasive because it is supported by the medical records of the shipyard clinic, hospital records, and the test records, the ALJ found that the claimant's disability was materially and substantially greater than would have resulted from the asbestosis alone. Id. at 7. Accordingly he held that Newport News qualified for § 908(f) relief from the special fund. See id. at 7-8. The Director appealed this finding to the Benefits Review Board, which affirmed the ALJ's decision by operation of law.4 The question before us is whether the evidence presented to the ALJ was sufficient to support his finding that Newport News warranted§ 908(f) relief.