Farley v. WP Coal Company ( 1996 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
BEATRICE FARLEY, Widow of
Junior D. Farley,
Petitioner,
v.
No. 95-2699
W.P. COAL COMPANY; DIRECTOR,
OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
PROGRAMS, UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
Respondents.
On Petition for Review of an Order
of the Benefits Review Board.
(95-1174-BLA)
Submitted: March 19, 1996
Decided: April 19, 1996
Before MURNAGHAN, HAMILTON, and WILLIAMS,
Circuit Judges.
_________________________________________________________________
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
_________________________________________________________________
COUNSEL
George A. Mills, III, Huntington, West Virginia, for Petitioner. Dar-
rell V. McGraw, Jr., Attorney General, Leah Quentin Griffin, Assis-
tant Attorney General, Charleston, West Virginia, for Respondents.
_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
_________________________________________________________________
OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Beatrice Farley, the widow of Junior Farley, seeks review of a
decision of the Benefits Review Board ("Board") affirming the
administrative law judge's ("ALJ") decision to deny her application
for black lung survivor's benefits pursuant to 30 U.S.C.A. § 901-45(West 1986 & Supp. 1995). Benefits were denied in this case based
on the ALJ's determination, affirmed by the Board, that Mrs. Farley
failed to prove that pneumoconiosis caused or contributed to her hus-
band's death under 20 C.F.R. § 718.205(c) (1995). On appeal, Farley
does not identify any specific error committed by the ALJ in making
this determination, but argues generally that the medical evidence of
record was sufficient to prove that pneumoconiosis at least hastened
the miner's death, thereby satisfying the criteria of § 718.205(c) under
our decision in Shuff v. Cedar Coal Co., 967 F.2d 977, 980 (4th Cir.
1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1050 (1993).
An ALJ may properly discredit medical opinions which are equivo-
cal or qualified. See Justice v. Island Creek Coal Co., 11 BLR 1-91
(1988); Campbell v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation
Programs, 11 BLR 1-16 (1988). In this case, we find that the Board
and the ALJ properly rejected the only medical reports of record
which tended to link pneumoconiosis to the miner's death because
they were all equivocal or qualified. Dr. Tivitmahaisoon merely
opined that the miner's pneumoconiosis "could have indirectly
affected his prognosis," and Dr. Tanquin stated only that pneumoconi-
osis "may have" adversely affected the miner's condition. Similarly,
Dr. Green's opinion that pneumoconiosis was a "minor contributing
factor" to death was qualified by his statement that the miner had only
simple pneumoconiosis, and that such pneumoconiosis is not associ-
ated with increased mortality. Finally, while we note that Farley also
relies on the autopsy report of Dr. DeLara to support her position, we
find that his report cannot support her burden because it merely finds
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evidence of pneumoconiosis and does not address whether the disease
played a role in the miner's death.
Because the ALJ's determinations are supported by substantial evi-
dence and are not contrary to law, we affirm the decision of the
Board. See Zbosnik v. Badger Coal Co., 759 F.2d 1187, 1189 (4th
Cir. 1985). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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