Court Opinion

ID: 9478946
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:03:48.480885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:43.566648
License: Public Domain

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I would reverse the decision of the Benefits Review Board (BRB) and remand for the award of benefits because the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) erroneously allowed into evidence a rereading of the chest x-ray taken April 9, 1980. The x-ray had previously been read as positive, presumptively establishing that John Starchevich suffers from pneumoconi-osis. Under the statutory scheme set up by Congress to prevent the very kind of injustice that resulted in this case, see Tobias v. Republic Steel Corporation, 2 BLR 1-1277 (1981), the ALJ should never have allowed the rereading of the April 9, 1980, x-ray. With the evidence of the positive x-ray before him, the AU should have held that Starchevich is entitled to benefits pursuant to 20 C.F.R. § 727.203(a), and should have made the award.
The majority opinion properly recognizes that 20 C.F.R. § 727.206(b)(1) prohibits the rereading of a properly qualified x-ray interpreted as positive by a board-certified radiologist, absent any evidence of fraud, if the claimant presents “other evidence of a pulmonary or respiratory impairment.” There is no question that the April 9, 1980, x-ray meets the § 727.206(b)(1) criteria. However, the majority opinion errs, as did the AU, in failing to recognize that Starchevich offered sufficient other evidence to prohibit the rereading of the x-ray. “Other evidence” is a defined term:
(i) The term “other evidence” means medical tests such as blood-gas studies, pulmonary function studies or physical performance tests, physical examinations or medical histories which establish the presence of a chronic respiratory or cardio-pulmonary condition and the spouse’s affidavit alone shall not be sufficient in the case of a living miner to establish the existence of a respiratory or pulmonary impairment.
20 C.F.R. § 727.206(b)(l)(i) (emphasis added). It is obvious that the term “other evidence” is defined very broadly. If Starchevich were deceased, the affidavit of his spouse that he suffered from lung disease would have been sufficient “other evidence” to prevent the rereading of the April 9, 1980, x-ray. Moreover, “other evidence” is not limited to tests which themselves rise to a level that would invoke the statutory presumption.
The majority relies on Auxier v. Director, 4 Black Lung Rep. (MB)1-717 (1982), a case factually distinguishable from the instant case, for the proposition that to prevent the rereading of a positive x-ray, a claimant must present “other evidence” that the claimant suffers from a “significant and measurable level of respiratory or pulmonary impairment.” Id. at 1-721. I think the standard in Auxier v. Director is more demanding than that set forth in the statutory scheme.
Nevertheless, even when this new higher standard is applied to the facts in the instant case the inescapable conclusion is that Starchevich did present other evidence that he suffers from a significant and measurable level of respiratory impairment which should have precluded the rereading of the x-ray. The record abounds with such other evidence, some of which is not even discussed by either the AU, the BRB, or the majority.
Dr. Stephen S. Jewett reported that an x-ray read on February 27, 1979, revealed an enlarged heart and tortuous aorta. The report also revealed “[tjhere is infiltration in the lung fields indicative of chronic inflammatory disease.” This opinion is not mentioned by the AU.
On April 9, 1980, Dr. L.K. Rasmussen examined Starchevich, took his medical history, and determined that he is disabled because of lung disease. Dr. Rasmussen specifically stated that the chronic lung disease was caused by exposure to coal *200dust. Medical histories and physical examinations are, of course, specifically listed in the definition of “other evidence.” For Dr. Rasmussen to determine that Starchevich is disabled, it follows that the respiratory disease must be both “significant and measurable.” The AU rejected Dr. Rasmussen’s opinion, relying instead on the opinion of Dr. Sherman Mitchell who reexamined the medical evidence at the request of the government. Dr. Mitchell repudiated Dr. Rasmussen’s opinion without ever having seen, much less examined, Starchevich.
On April 13, 1983, Dr. Gutensohn reported that Starchevich suffers from chronic obstructive restrictive lung disease. Dr. Gutensohn’s report lists a number of physical limitations affecting Starchevich’s ability to walk, climb, lift, and carry. The limitations are evidence of a significant and measurable level of respiratory impairment within the meaning of Auxier v. Director. Dr. Gutensohn’s report is not even mentioned by the AU. Nor was it considered by the majority opinion.
Additionally, Starchevich presented evidence of several ventilatory studies. Some of these studies revealed some impairment. Even if the test levels themselves were not low enough to raise the presumption, the impairment was nevertheless “measurable” and “significant” enough to preclude the rereading of the April 9, 1980, x-ray.
Medical science is not exact. Pneumoco-niosis is an elusive disease, hard to diagnose, hard to prove, and hard to live with. For exactly these reasons, Congress has established the statutory presumptions and, under certain circumstances, precluded rereadings of x-rays by Labor Department employees. It is the intent of Congress that the Black Lung Benefits Act be liberally construed with doubts resolved in favor of miners. Bozwich v. Mathews, 558 F.2d 475 (8th Cir.1977); Newman v. Director, 745 F.2d 1162 (8th Cir.1984).
Accordingly, I would hold that the AU should have accepted Starchevich’s other evidence of significant and measurable impairment and should have precluded the rereading of the positive x-ray. Faced with a positive x-ray and a claimant who had worked in mining employment for over ten years, the AU should have invoked the presumption of disability caused by coal mine employment and awarded Starchevich his long-overdue benefits. I would reverse the order of the BRB.