Silicosis Lawsuit – Silica Exposure Attorneys

This page examines silicosis lawsuits, their potential settlement amounts, and jury payouts.

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by occupational exposure to airborne silica dust particles from stone like granite, quartz, and other construction materials. Anyone who was exposed to silica dust from construction materials and has been diagnosed with silicosis may be eligible to file a silicosis lawsuit and receive financial compensation. Our silicosis lawyers explain how silicosis lawsuits work and the potential settlement value of these cases.

Latest Silicosis Legal News

June 25, 2024: New Silicosis Lawsuit

A worker has filed a lawsuit in the Orange County Superior Court, alleging that he developed silicosis due to exposure to crystalline silica while cutting quartz countertops.

The defendants include prominent companies such as Alpha Tile & Stone Inc., Caesarstone Ltd., Home Depot USA Inc., and IKEA North America Services LLC. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, citing negligence, product liability for failure to warn, product liability for design defect, fraudulent concealment, and breach of implied warranties.

May 26, 2024 – OSHA Standards

California lawmakers introduced multiple bills aimed at strengthening safety standards concerning indoor and outdoor heat exposure and crystalline silica exposure in engineered stone fabrication businesses.

AB 3043 seeks to reduce worker exposure to crystalline silica, particularly targeting the San Fernando Valley, where 60% of reported silicosis cases in the state occur. The bill mandates Cal/OSHA to track and address non-compliant fabrication shops, enforce a licensing requirement, ban dry cutting, and provide comprehensive worker education and training.

January 3, 2024: California Takes Action

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted an emergency temporary standard to address rising instances of occupational silicosis among engineered stone fabricating industry employees

The standard requires employers to implement additional precautions, such as using wet methods for cutting stones and providing proper personal protective equipment. The emergency regulation comes after public comments and recommendations from various stakeholders.

The new rules apply broadly to California workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica. They impose obligations like continued monitoring of high-exposure tasks and prohibit certain work practices. Employers must also enhance training, provide respiratory protection, and report cases related to silica exposure promptly.

April 15, 2023:  Silicosis Lawsuit in Los Angeles

Two stone cutters have filed a lawsuit against multiple quartz countertop manufacturers in California, alleging they developed silicosis due to the companies’ fraudulent concealment of product hazards. The plaintiffs claim negligence, strict liability, fraudulent concealment, and breach of warranties, seeking damages for medical expenses and loss of earnings. They cite misleading claims by some companies and contradictory safety data sheets, arguing exposure to crystalline silica in the products caused their injuries.

January 6, 2023 – New Silicosis Study

A new study found that artificial countertop materials, such as solid surface composites and engineered stone, can pose significant health risks to workers who handle them. During fabrication, they emit airborne dust particles. Engineered stone contains particularly high levels of crystalline silica, which has been linked to cases of silicosis and pulmonary fibrosis among workers.

Silicosis

Silicosis is a a relatively rare but severe lung disease caused by inhaling airborne particles of silica or silica dust over a long period. When silica dust is inhaled, it enters the lungs and causes inflammation of the tissue surrounding the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli).

The inhalation of silica dust leads to the development of fibrotic lung tissue. It is diagnosed through a combination of a patient’s exposure history, radiological findings, and pathological results. Silicosis is commonly seen in individuals with significant exposure to silica, such as quarry workers.

When this inflammation from inhaling silica dust occurs regularly over a prolonged time period, it gradually leads to the formation of nodules and permanent scar tissue in the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis). The gradual buildup of this scar tissue in the lungs makes it difficult to breathe, and the breathing difficulties get worse as the scarring progresses.

Difficulty breathing is the primary symptom of silicosis, and it gets progressively worse as the scarring of the lungs expands and lung capacity decreases. People with advanced silicosis will often require oxygen support or breathing assistance devices. In addition to reducing lung capacity, silicosis can significantly increase the risk of other diseases, including tuberculosis, bronchitis, lung cancer, kidney disease, and autoimmune conditions.

Silicosis is a disease that takes a very long time to develop as the scarring builds up inside the lungs. Most cases of silicosis are not formally diagnosed until 10 to 30 years after the individual is first exposed to silica dust.

Types of Silicosis

Chronic Silicosis

• Description: This is the most common form of silicosis.
• Exposure Period: It appears after ten or more years of exposure to low amounts of silica dust.
• Symptoms: Chronic cough, shortness of breath, and scarring of the lungs.
• Progression: Slow, can be managed with appropriate medical care, but the damage is irreversible.

Accelerated Silicosis

• Description: This form develops more quickly than chronic silicosis. Although exact figures are elusive, it is generally believed that accelerated silicosis is more prone to progressing to lung impairment compared to classical silicosis. It is also more likely to lead to complicating infections such as tuberculosis or atypical mycobacterial disease, which further increase the risk of pulmonary function impairment.
• Exposure Period: It appears 5 to 10 years after exposure to higher amounts of silica dust.
• Symptoms: Similar to chronic silicosis but appear more rapidly, including severe shortness of breath and fatigue.
• Progression: Faster than chronic silicosis, leading to earlier onset of severe symptoms.

Acute Silicosis

• Description: The most aggressive and severe form of silicosis.
• Exposure Period: It may occur after only a few months to a few years of exposure to extremely high concentrations of silica dust.
• Symptoms: Rapid onset of severe respiratory issues, including cough, weight loss, and extreme shortness of breath.
• Progression: Rapid and often deadly, with significant lung damage occurring quickly.

Complicated Silicosis

• Description: Also known as Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF).
• Characteristics: It develops when the nodules of silicosis coalesce into larger masses in the lungs.
• Symptoms: Severe respiratory impairment, chronic cough, and substantial lung function reduction.
• Progression: Worsens over time, leading to significant disability and potentially death.

Conglomerate Silicosis

• Description: A severe form of chronic or accelerated silicosis.
• Characteristics: Large areas of the lung are affected by fibrosis.
• Symptoms: Increased difficulty in breathing, chronic cough, and frequent chest infections.
• Progression: Similar to complicated silicosis, with large fibrotic masses forming in the lungs.

Accelerated and acute silicosis are most often the subjects these lawsuits due to their rapid onset and severe health impacts, frequently linked to egregious workplace safety violations and significant negligence by employers.

Stone Countertop Workers Are at Risk for Silicosis

Anyone who is regularly exposed to airborne silica dust particles over a long time period is at risk of developing silicosis. Silica is a natural mineral that is found in sand and in most types of rocks, including sandstone, granite, quartz, and marble.

Silica is only toxic when it is in very small, airborne dust particles known as respirable crystalline silica or “silica dust.” This type of airborne silica dust is created from cutting, grinding, or surfacing materials containing silica, such as granite, marble, quartz, and other materials.

Anyone who was involved in the cutting, sanding, shaping, or surfacing of stone countertops for a long time period is at an extremely high risk of developing silicosis. The same is true for anyone who worked with engineered stone products, which actually contain even higher levels of silica than natural stone.  Cutting or surfacing granite, marble or engineered stone for use as countertops is exactly the type activity that results in chronic silica dust inhalation.  Sandblasters seem to be a particularly high risk.

Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a study analyzing the dust generated from cutting Corian with a circular saw. They collected air samples using filters and direct-reading instruments in an automated laboratory testing setup. The study that approximately 31.8% of the airborne dust from cutting Corian is respirable.

In 2019, the CDC released a report on silicosis, noting a significant spike in occupational silicosis rates. The report and subsequent studies have attributed the increase in silicosis to the increased popularity of stone and engineered stone countertops over the last few decades.

Can You File a Silicosis Lawsuit?

Anyone who was regularly exposed to silica dust as part of their job for a long time period, and was subsequently diagnosed with silicosis, lung cancer, COPD, or another disease directly related to silica exposure, you may be able to get financial compensation by filing a silicosis lawsuit.  Silicosis lawsuits are being filed across the country against stone product manufacturers and suppliers of products resulting in silica dust exposure.

Silicosis is an entirely preventable disease as long as proper safety precautions are in place, including personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and respirators. Companies that negligently fail to provide employees with proper PPE or implement other safety measures can be held accountable and forced to pay financial compensation.

Some silicosis lawsuits can be brought as product liability cases against manufacturers of products containing silica or against manufacturers of respirators that failed to filter out silica dust.

Settlement Value of Silicosis Lawsuits

The potential settlement amounts of a silicosis lawsuit vary significantly depending on the severity of the plaintiff’s silicosis and other related health conditions. Cases in which the plaintiff only has silicosis have a lower settlement payout compared to cases where the silicosis developed into lung cancer or other health complications.

• $750,000 Verdict (Mississippi): A 70-year-old male alleged that he suffered silicosis from prolonged exposure to silica dust which entered through his personal respiration equipment. He sued the manufacturer of the respirators alleging that it failed to properly manufacture and design its products, failed to ensure that silica dust would not enter the mask, and that it failed to ensure that its products were safe for their intended use and purpose. The defendant denied liability and contended that the plaintiff failed to properly wear the mask.
• $1,500,000 Verdict (Virginia): A 43-year-old male railroad contractor suffered silicosis when he worked on the tracks and inhaled silica dust for a period of approximately 16 years during his employment with the defendant (Norfolk Southern Railway Co.). The plaintiff contended that the defendant failed to provide a safe workplace for its employees, failed to supply protective gear for its track workers to prevent the development of lung disease, failed to warn workers of excessive exposure to silica dust, and violated federal law.
• $5,000,000 Verdict (Mississippi): A 56-year-old male alleged that he suffered silicosis that developed into lung cancer from the inhalation of chemicals after working as a construction worker for many years during which he wore a respirator that was manufactured by the defendant (American Optical). The lawsuit alleged that the respirators were defective. The defendant denied liability and contended that the plaintiff used the product improperly, that his employer failed to provide adequate training and instruction for the safe use of the respirator, and that the product was not defectively designed or manufactured.
• $2,000,000 Settlement (Texas): A 67-year-old male sandblaster alleged that he suffered ‘conglomerate’ silicosis when he used silica sand in the course and scope of his employment for approximately 14 years. He sued the manufacturer of the silica sand claiming that it delayed and diluted proposed federal regulations that would have banned the use of silica and failed to warn that the product could fracture into microscopic particles and cause silicosis.
• $7,600,000 Verdict (Mississippi): The plaintiff worked as a sandblaster and alleged that he suffered chemical inhalation that resulted in silicosis and fibrosis when he utilized silica-laden sand and paper masks that were manufactured by the defendants over the period of approximately 30 years. The plaintiff contended that the defendants failed to properly manufacture the products, failed to ensure that prolonged exposure to the products were safe for humans, and failed to warn of the known risks associated with the utilization of the products. The defendants denied liability and contended that the plaintiff assumed the risk of injury.
• $7,500,000 Verdict (Texas): A 66-year-old male sandblaster died of respiratory failure, after suffering from emphysema and silicosis, when he was exposed to silica for ten years while working with sand produced by the defendant, US Silica Company. The plaintiff contended that the defendant failed to warn the user of possible dangers associated with using its sand and that the defendant negligently marketed and sold its product. The defendant denied liability and contended that the health hazards associated with its product were known in the industry and that the responsibility of informing the plaintiff was placed solely upon the plaintiff’s employer.

Hire a Silicosis Lawyer Today

If you were diagnosed with silicosis or a related respiratory condition as a result of exposure to silica dust, contact our silicosis lawyers today to see if you qualify to file a lawsuit. Call us at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.