Lawsuit filed against US government as NIOSH cuts hinder coal miners’ black lung transfers

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Kanawha County coal miner Harry Wiley was diagnosed with black lung last November and is still working underground where the severity of his condition could get worse. He recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government following cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an agency that could help him with the resources he needs to get better according to his lawyer Sam Petsonk.

"Many miners use their federal right to transfer away from the working face of a mine once they begin developing black lung so that the disease . . .