(a) Benefits are provided to eligible survivors of a miner whose
death was due to pneumoconiosis. In order to receive benefits, the
claimant must prove that:
(1) The miner had pneumoconiosis (see Sec. 718.202);
(2) The miner's pneumoconiosis arose out of coal mine employment
(see Sec. 718.203); and
(3) The miner's death was due to pneumoconiosis as provided by this
section.
(b) For the purpose of adjudicating survivors' claims filed prior
to January 1, 1982, death will be considered due to pneumoconiosis if
any of the following criteria is met:
(1) Where competent medical evidence established that the miner's
death was due to pneumoconiosis, or
(2) Where death was due to multiple causes including pneumoconiosis
and it is not medically feasible to distinguish which disease caused
death or the extent to which pneumoconiosis contributed to the cause of
death, or
(3) Where the presumption set forth at Sec. 718.304 is applicable,
or
(4) Where either of the presumptions set forth at Sec. 718.303 or
Sec. 718.305 is applicable and has not been rebutted.
(5) Where the cause of death is significantly related to or
aggravated by pneumoconiosis.
(c) For the purpose of adjudicating survivors' claims filed on or
after January 1, 1982, death will be considered to be due to
pneumoconiosis if any of the following criteria is met:
(1) Where competent medical evidence establishes that
pneumoconiosis was the cause of the miner's death, or
(2) Where pneumoconiosis was a substantially contributing cause or
factor leading to the miner's death or where the death was caused by
complications of pneumoconiosis, or
(3) Where the presumption set forth at Sec. 718.304 is applicable.
(4) However, survivors are not eligible for benefits where the
miner's death was caused by a traumatic injury or the principal cause
of death was a medical condition not related to pneumoconiosis, unless
the evidence establishes that pneumoconiosis was a substantially
contributing cause of death.
(5) Pneumoconiosis is a ``substantially contributing cause'' of a
miner's death if it hastens the miner's death.
(d) To minimize the hardships to potentially entitled survivors due
to the disruption of benefits upon the miner's death, survivors' claims
filed on or after January 1, 1982, shall be adjudicated on an expedited
basis in accordance with the following procedures. The initial burden
is upon the claimant, with the assistance of the district director, to
develop evidence which meets the requirements of paragraph (c) of this
section. Where the initial medical evidence appears to establish that
death was due to pneumoconiosis, the survivor will receive benefits
unless the weight of the evidence as subsequently developed by the
Department or the responsible operator establishes that the miner's
death was not due to pneumoconiosis as defined in paragraph (c).
However, no such benefits shall be found payable before the party
responsible for the payment of such benefits shall have had a
reasonable opportunity for the development of rebuttal evidence. See
Sec. 725.414 concerning the operator's opportunity to develop evidence
prior to an initial determination.
