{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/65.2-513.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/65.2-513.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/65.2-513.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/65.2-513.html"}],"law_id":87021,"edition_id":1,"section_id":87021,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-513","catch_line":"Compensation for death from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis; determining whether death was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease","history":"1972, c. 619, \u00a7 65.1-65.1; 1973, cc. 401, 436; 1974, c. 560; 1975, c. 447; 1991, c. 355.","full_text":"A\n\nIf death results from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if the employee was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death and claim for compensation is made within three years after such death, the employer shall pay or cause to be paid to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee until his death or remarriage or the minor dependents of the employee until such minor dependents reach the age of eighteen (or twenty-three, so long as they remain as full-time students in a generally accredited institution of learning) or such other legal dependents as the deceased employee might have had at the time of his death for the duration of such dependency, 66 2\/3 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage during the last three years that he worked in the coal mines, up to 100 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth as defined in § 65.2-500 without any specific limit as to the number of such weeks. However, any claim for compensation of an employee who was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death shall be paid only to the extent required by federal law.B\n\nThe Commission shall, by regulation duly drawn and published after notice and hearing, prescribe standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, as amended, for determining whether the death or total disability of an employee was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease.C\n\nIn prescribing such standards the following factors shall be included:1\n\nIf an employee who died from a respirable (respiratory) disease was employed for ten years or more in an environment where he was injuriously exposed to such a disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his disease arose out of such employment, or if he became totally disabled from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if such disease significantly contributed to his death or disability, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his death or disability was due to such disease.2\n\nWhere there is clear evidence of exposure to an occupational lung disease, the Commission may make its determination whether compensation is payable to the dependents based on the description of the employee’s symptoms, X-rays, and other competent medical evidence, and the opinion of experts as to whether those symptoms reasonably described the symptoms of such an occupational disease.3\n\nThe statement as to the cause of death on a death certificate may be considered as evidence in any such cases but shall not be controlling on the Commission’s findings. The Commission may also, by regulation, establish standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as amended, for apportioning liability for benefits under this section and under § 65.2-504 A 4 among more than one operator, where such apportionment is appropriate, provided that no apportionment shall operate to deprive an employee of the full benefits due him under this title.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":311578,"text":"If death results from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if the employee was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death and claim for compensation is made within three years after such death, the employer shall pay or cause to be paid to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee until his death or remarriage or the minor dependents of the employee until such minor dependents reach the age of eighteen (or twenty-three, so long as they remain as full-time students in a generally accredited institution of learning) or such other legal dependents as the deceased employee might have had at the time of his death for the duration of such dependency, 66 2\/3 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage during the last three years that he worked in the coal mines, up to 100 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth as defined in § 65.2-500 without any specific limit as to the number of such weeks. However, any claim for compensation of an employee who was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death shall be paid only to the extent required by federal law.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":311579,"text":"The Commission shall, by regulation duly drawn and published after notice and hearing, prescribe standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, as amended, for determining whether the death or total disability of an employee was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":311580,"text":"In prescribing such standards the following factors shall be included:","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"C1"},"3":{"id":311581,"text":"If an employee who died from a respirable (respiratory) disease was employed for ten years or more in an environment where he was injuriously exposed to such a disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his disease arose out of such employment, or if he became totally disabled from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if such disease significantly contributed to his death or disability, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his death or disability was due to such disease.","type":"section","prefixes":["C","1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"C1","prefix_anchor":"C1","level":2,"prior_prefix":"C","next_prefix":"C2"},"4":{"id":311582,"text":"Where there is clear evidence of exposure to an occupational lung disease, the Commission may make its determination whether compensation is payable to the dependents based on the description of the employee’s symptoms, X-rays, and other competent medical evidence, and the opinion of experts as to whether those symptoms reasonably described the symptoms of such an occupational disease.","type":"section","prefixes":["C","2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"C2","prefix_anchor":"C2","level":2,"prior_prefix":"C1","next_prefix":"C3"},"5":{"id":311583,"text":"The statement as to the cause of death on a death certificate may be considered as evidence in any such cases but shall not be controlling on the Commission’s findings. The Commission may also, by regulation, establish standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as amended, for apportioning liability for benefits under this section and under § 65.2-504 A 4 among more than one operator, where such apportionment is appropriate, provided that no apportionment shall operate to deprive an employee of the full benefits due him under this title.","type":"section","prefixes":["C","3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"C3","prefix_anchor":"C3","level":2,"prior_prefix":"C2"}},"ancestry":[{"id":13949,"edition_id":1,"name":"Compensation and Payment Thereof","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13199,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:24","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:24","permalink":{"id":276393,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13949,"identifier":"5","token":"65.2\/5","url":"\/65.2\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13199,"edition_id":1,"name":"Workers' Compensation","identifier":"65.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:26","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:26","permalink":{"id":276115,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13199,"identifier":"65.2","token":"65.2","url":"\/65.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":63631,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-500","catch_line":"Compensation for total incapacity; computation of average wage; exclusion of AmeriCorps members, certain Food Stamp Employment and Training Program participants, and certain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families participants","url":"\/65.2-500\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-500","metadata":false},{"id":63980,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-501","catch_line":"Incapacity after permanent loss","url":"\/65.2-501\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-501","metadata":false},{"id":85307,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-502","catch_line":"Compensation for partial incapacity; exclusion of AmeriCorps members, certain Food Stamp Employment and Training Program participants, and certain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families participants","url":"\/65.2-502\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-502","metadata":false},{"id":65657,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-503","catch_line":"Permanent loss","url":"\/65.2-503\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-503","metadata":false},{"id":70887,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-504","catch_line":"Compensation for disability from coal worker's pneumoconiosis; insurance of coal operator","url":"\/65.2-504\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-504","metadata":false},{"id":70310,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-505","catch_line":"Injuries in different employments; injury to employee with disability; subsequent permanent injury by accident in service to employer","url":"\/65.2-505\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-505","metadata":false},{"id":67616,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-506","catch_line":"Compensation after second injury in same employment","url":"\/65.2-506\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-506","metadata":false},{"id":55009,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-507","catch_line":"Same employment; when both injuries permanent","url":"\/65.2-507\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-507","metadata":false},{"id":80866,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-508","catch_line":"Foreign injuries","url":"\/65.2-508\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-508","metadata":false},{"id":62648,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-509","catch_line":"Commencement of compensation","url":"\/65.2-509\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-509","metadata":false},{"id":74456,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-510","catch_line":"Refusal of employment; compensation for partial incapacity","url":"\/65.2-510\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-510","metadata":false},{"id":72220,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-510.1","catch_line":"Employee imprisonment; suspension of benefits","url":"\/65.2-510.1\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-510.1","metadata":false},{"id":78253,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-511","catch_line":"Compensation to employee's distributees upon his death from any other cause","url":"\/65.2-511\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-511","metadata":false},{"id":56660,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-512","catch_line":"Compensation to dependents of an employee killed; burial expenses","url":"\/65.2-512\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-512","metadata":false},{"id":87021,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-513","catch_line":"Compensation for death from coal worker's pneumoconiosis; determining whether death was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease","url":"\/65.2-513\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-513","metadata":false},{"id":66016,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-514","catch_line":"Special provisions for coal worker's pneumoconiosis claims for total disability or death","url":"\/65.2-514\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-514","metadata":false},{"id":57788,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-515","catch_line":"Persons conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent","url":"\/65.2-515\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-515","metadata":false},{"id":77728,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-516","catch_line":"Other cases of dependency","url":"\/65.2-516\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-516","metadata":false},{"id":56782,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-517","catch_line":"Termination of dependency","url":"\/65.2-517\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-517","metadata":false},{"id":60115,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-518","catch_line":"Limitation upon total compensation","url":"\/65.2-518\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-518","metadata":false},{"id":61340,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-519","catch_line":"When limitations inapplicable to injuries arising out of pneumoconiosis","url":"\/65.2-519\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-519","metadata":false},{"id":69889,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-520","catch_line":"Voluntary payment by employer","url":"\/65.2-520\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-520","metadata":false},{"id":77932,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-521","catch_line":"Time of payment","url":"\/65.2-521\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-521","metadata":false},{"id":61016,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-522","catch_line":"Lump sum payments, generally","url":"\/65.2-522\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-522","metadata":false},{"id":86845,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-523","catch_line":"Lump sum payments to trustees","url":"\/65.2-523\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-523","metadata":false},{"id":84045,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-524","catch_line":"Failure to pay compensation within two weeks after it becomes due","url":"\/65.2-524\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-524","metadata":false},{"id":84393,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-525","catch_line":"Who may receive payment and receipt therefor","url":"\/65.2-525\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-525","metadata":false},{"id":65719,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-526","catch_line":"Payment to junior dependents in good faith","url":"\/65.2-526\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-526","metadata":false},{"id":75167,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-527","catch_line":"When employee's rights exercised by guardian or trustee","url":"\/65.2-527\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-527","metadata":false},{"id":61743,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-528","catch_line":"Time limitations on persons under disability","url":"\/65.2-528\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-528","metadata":false},{"id":62795,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-529","catch_line":"Joint service","url":"\/65.2-529\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-529","metadata":false},{"id":61412,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-530","catch_line":"Preferences and priorities","url":"\/65.2-530\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-530","metadata":false},{"id":84247,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-531","catch_line":"Assignments of compensation; exemption from creditors' claims","url":"\/65.2-531\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-531","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":56660,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-512","catch_line":"Compensation to dependents of an employee killed; burial expenses","url":"\/65.2-512\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-512","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":66016,"structure_id":13949,"section_number":"65.2-514","catch_line":"Special provisions for coal worker's pneumoconiosis claims for total disability or death","url":"\/65.2-514\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-514","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/65.2-513\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1972. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 619 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1972 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 4 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1973, chapters 401 and 436; in 1974, chapter 560; in 1975, chapter 447; in 1991, chapter 355.<\/p>","references":[{"id":70887,"section_number":"65.2-504","catch_line":"Compensation for disability from coal worker's pneumoconiosis; insurance of coal operator","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-504\/"},{"id":66016,"section_number":"65.2-514","catch_line":"Special provisions for coal worker's pneumoconiosis claims for total disability or death","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-514\/"},{"id":60115,"section_number":"65.2-518","catch_line":"Limitation upon total compensation","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-518\/"},{"id":56629,"section_number":"65.2-606","catch_line":"Physicians for medical examination","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-606\/"},{"id":68056,"section_number":"65.2-709","catch_line":"Cost of living supplements for total incapacity and dependents of deceased","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-709\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":63631,"section_number":"65.2-500","catch_line":"Compensation for total incapacity; computation of average wage; exclusion of AmeriCorps members, certain Food Stamp Employment and Training Program participants, and certain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families participants","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-500\/"},{"id":70887,"section_number":"65.2-504","catch_line":"Compensation for disability from coal worker's pneumoconiosis; insurance of coal operator","order_by":null,"url":"\/65.2-504\/"}],"permalink":{"id":276451,"object_type":"law","relational_id":87021,"identifier":"65.2-513","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-513","url":"\/65.2-513\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/65.2-513\/","token":"65.2\/5\/65.2-513","dublin_core":{"Title":"Compensation for death from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis; determining whether death was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 65.2-513","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> If death results from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if the employee was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death and claim for compensation is made within three years after such death, the employer<\/span> shall pay or cause to be paid to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee until his death or remarriage or the minor<\/span> dependents of the employee until such minor<\/span> dependents reach the age of eighteen (or twenty-three, so long as they remain as full-time students in a generally accredited institution of learning) or such other legal dependents as the deceased employee might have had at the time of his death for the duration of such dependency, 66 2\/3 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage during the last three years that he worked in the coal mines, up to 100 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth as defined in § 65.2-500<\/a> without any specific limit as to the number of such weeks. However, any claim for compensation of an employee who was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his death shall be paid only to the extent required by federal law<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> The Commission<\/span> shall, by regulation duly drawn and published after notice and hearing<\/span>, prescribe standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, as amended, for determining whether the death or total disability of an employee was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational lung disease. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> In prescribing such standards the following factors shall be included: <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> If an employee who died from a respirable (respiratory) disease was employed for ten years or more in an environment where he was injuriously exposed to such a disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption<\/span> that his disease arose out of such employment, or if he became totally disabled from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if such disease significantly contributed to his death or disability, there shall be a rebuttable presumption<\/span> that his death or disability was due to such disease. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> Where there is clear evidence<\/span> of exposure to an occupational lung disease, the Commission<\/span> may make its determination whether compensation is payable to the dependents based on the description of the employee’s symptoms, X-rays, and other competent medical evidence<\/span>, and the opinion<\/span> of experts as to whether those symptoms reasonably described the symptoms of such an occupational disease. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> The statement as to the cause of death on a death certificate may be considered as evidence<\/span> in any such cases but shall not be controlling on the Commission<\/span>’s findings<\/span>. The Commission<\/span> may also, by regulation, establish standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as amended, for apportioning liability for benefits under this section and under § 65.2-504<\/a> A 4 among more than one operator, where such apportionment is appropriate, provided that no apportionment shall operate to deprive an employee of the full benefits due him under this title. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCOMPENSATION FOR DEATH FROM COAL WORKER’S PNEUMOCONIOSIS; DETERMINING\nWHETHER DEATH WAS DUE TO PNEUMOCONIOSIS OR ANY CHRONIC OCCUPATIONAL LUNG DISEASE\n(\u00a7 65.2-513)\n\nA. If death results from coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if the employee\nwas totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the time of his\ndeath and claim for compensation is made within three years after such death,\nthe employer shall pay or cause to be paid to the surviving spouse of the\ndeceased employee until his death or remarriage or the minor dependents of the\nemployee until such minor dependents reach the age of eighteen (or twenty-three,\nso long as they remain as full-time students in a generally accredited\ninstitution of learning) or such other legal dependents as the deceased employee\nmight have had at the time of his death for the duration of such dependency, 66\n2\/3 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage during the last three\nyears that he worked in the coal mines, up to 100 percent of the average weekly\nwage of the Commonwealth as defined in § 65.2-500 without any specific\nlimit as to the number of such weeks. However, any claim for compensation of an\nemployee who was totally disabled by coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at the\ntime of his death shall be paid only to the extent required by federal law.\n\nB. The Commission shall, by regulation duly drawn and published after notice and\nhearing, prescribe standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the\nSecretary of Health and Human Services under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health\nand Safety Act, as amended, for determining whether the death or total\ndisability of an employee was due to pneumoconiosis or any chronic occupational\nlung disease.\n\nC. In prescribing such standards the following factors shall be included:\n\n 1. If an employee who died from a respirable (respiratory) disease was\n employed for ten years or more in an environment where he was injuriously\n exposed to such a disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his\n disease arose out of such employment, or if he became totally disabled from\n coal worker’s pneumoconiosis or if such disease significantly\n contributed to his death or disability, there shall be a rebuttable\n presumption that his death or disability was due to such disease.\n\n 2. Where there is clear evidence of exposure to an occupational lung disease,\n the Commission may make its determination whether compensation is payable to\n the dependents based on the description of the employee’s symptoms,\n X-rays, and other competent medical evidence, and the opinion of experts as to\n whether those symptoms reasonably described the symptoms of such an\n occupational disease.\n\n 3. The statement as to the cause of death on a death certificate may be\n considered as evidence in any such cases but shall not be controlling on the\n Commission’s findings. The Commission may also, by regulation, establish\n standards, not inconsistent with those prescribed by the Secretary of Labor\n under the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act as amended, for\n apportioning liability for benefits under this section and under §\n 65.2-504 A 4 among more than one operator, where such apportionment is\n appropriate, provided that no apportionment shall operate to deprive an\n employee of the full benefits due him under this title.\n\nHISTORY: 1972, c. 619, \u00a7 65.1-65.1; 1973, cc. 401, 436; 1974, c. 560; 1975, c.\n447; 1991, c. 355.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}