West Virginia Code Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation § 23-4B-1. Purpose

The purpose of this article is to establish a fund to provide benefits to coal miners who are totally disabled by pneumoconiosis and to eligible dependents of coal miners whose deaths were due to pneumoconiosis or who were totally disabled from pneumoconiosis at time of their deaths. The further purpose of this article is to provide a readily available insurer of liability created by Title IV of the federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969,  1 as amended, for claims incurred under said Act, including all claims where the date of last exposure is on or before the thirty-first day of December, two thousand five, without regard to the date the claim is filed.