Opinion ID: 1754862
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Magic Coal Co. v. Fox:

Text: The claimant was employed in the coal mining industry for over 19 years and last worked in March, 1992. In February, 1997, he filed a claim for a RIB. Among the contested issues was whether he suffered from coal workers' pneumoconiosis and whether the university medical expert's report was entitled to presumptive weight pursuant to KRS 342.315. Evidence of the presence of the disease was conflicting, and the report of the university evaluator was negative. In a decision rendered on September 9, 1997, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that, to the extent that it afforded presumptive weight to the findings and opinions of university evaluators, the 1996 amendment to KRS 342.315 was substantive and should not be applied to a claim which arose before the amendment's effective date. The ALJ indicated that the credentials of all of the expert witnesses were worthy of respect but chose to rely upon the claimant's witnesses and awarded a RIB. This appeal was considered by the Workers' Compensation Board (Board) together with several others, including Peabody Coal Co. v. Hawes and Peabody Coal Co. v. Bealmear. The Board rejected the argument that KRS 342.314(2) simply shifts the burden of going forward with proof to the party who opposes the evaluator's report, indicating that such a construction would render the amendment ineffectual. The Board determined, instead, that the amendment creates a rebuttable presumption which favors the university evaluator's opinion, which represents an alteration in the overall burden of proof placed upon the parties, and which is substantive in nature. For that reason, the Board concluded that the findings and opinions of university evaluators should not be given presumptive weight in those claims which arose before December 12, 1996. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Board. Magic Coal Co. (Magic) emphasizes that this is a RIB claim which, unlike a claim for income benefits, is controlled by the law on the date of filing rather than the law on the date of last exposure. Breeding v. Colonial Coal Co., Ky., 975 S.W.2d 914 (1998). This claim was filed after December 12, 1996; therefore, Magic asserts, the December 12, 1996, amendments to Chapter 342 controlled the claim. Second, Magic argues that KRS 342.315(2) does not alter the burden of proof but is a procedural mechanism to ensure the ALJ's reliance upon impartial expert testimony when alternative medical testimony is not particularly convincing. Emphasizing that the presumption is rebuttable, not conclusive, it argues that the presumption is procedural in nature. See Boggs v. Blue Diamond Coal Co., 497 F.Supp. 1105 (1980); General Refractories Co., Inc. v. Henderson, Ky., 232 S.W.2d 846 (1950). Claimant responds that in the absence of specific language to the contrary, the meaning of presumptive weight should be dictated by KRE 301. In the alternative, he argues that if the Board's construction of the term is correct, the amendment is substantive and should not be applied in instances where the injury or last exposure occurred before the amendment's effective date. Finally, claimant raises four arguments against the constitutionality of the provision in the event that it is construed as restricting the authority of the ALJ to weigh conflicting medical evidence.