The issue of silicosis persists in the artificial stone-cutting industry
Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national pharmaceutical injury attorney and product liability attorney states, “The story of silicosis in the United States continues. The history isn’t a good one and it doesn’t have a nice ending. Silicosis is again affecting working men and it affects those who cut artificial stone.”
George Conk at Fordham University of Law wrote about the 1936 Hawks Nest tunnel disaster, which involved workers digging a tunnel in West Virginia who were exposed to deadly dust that resulted in 1,500 deaths caused by silicosis:
“Overwhelmingly black, the survivors returned home. The ill, and families of the deceased received no workers’ compensation … there were only 538 suits for damages. The cases settled for an aggregate of $200,000 of which one-third went to counsel feels. Tort thus provided compensation for only a fraction of those sickened.”
“Artificial stone has elevated silica levels when compared with natural stones. Silica dust at the time of cutting artificial stone is responsible for acute and chronic silicosis.” — Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Dr. Vigna says, “Today, worker’s compensation provides for the cost of medical care and provides for wage loss. Unfortunately, many of today’s artificial stone cutters have multiple employers outside of the stone-cutting industry and are providing for their own families in the United States and their extended families in Latin America. Worker’s Compensation is too thin of a lifeline for a person who has become short of breath on exertion or requires supplemental oxygen to function.”
Dr. Vigna explains, “Artificial stone has elevated silica levels when compared with natural stones. Silica dust at the time of cutting artificial stone is responsible for acute and chronic silicosis.”
Dr. Vigna concludes, “Artificial stone is a dangerous product for those who cut, assemble, and install it. There are multiple defendants, many of which are foreign corporations. We represent the most injured, those who have a chronic cough, are short of breath on exertion, have oxygen dependence, or those who require lung transplants. We are representing the injured against manufacturers of artificial stone. Pain and suffering of the injured, and the potential for punitive damages to change the defendant manufacturers’ behavior is what this litigation is about. This will be a long-term litigation and there will be bankruptcies of manufacturers in the future, like there was with Asbestos.”
To learn more: https://vignalawgroup.com/stone-cutter-lung-injury/.
Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who is investigating lung injury cases for those injured in the stone benchtop industry and exposed to artificial stone dust. Ben Martin is a national pharmaceutical injury attorney in Dallas, Texas. The lawyers represent the most severely injured in courts across the country. Dr. Vigna has legal offices in San Jose, California, and Los Angeles.
Resources:
https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-67361930478-7.pdf
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2807615
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427423000905
https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1924&context=faculty_scholarship
Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Vigna Law Group
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