Young Men Exposed to Serious Lung Injury:
1) Artificial stone cutting
2) Artificial stone fabrication
3) Artificial stone installation
Symptoms:
1) Shortness of breath
2) Dry cough
3) Progressive fatigue
4) Weight loss
What is the Cause?
Artificial stone contains HIGH LEVELS OF SILICA. This engineered stone is bound with a polymer resin resulting in much higher exposure concentrations to silica for workers employed in manufacturing, fabrication, cutting, and installing artificial stone products all of which produce HAZARDOUS DUST EXPOSURE.
Artificial Stone contains more than 90% silica which is twice as much as granite. It is estimated that 10-20% of employees in artificial stone fabrication have silicosis and 3% may develop PROGRESSIVE MASSIVE FIBROSIS.
The dust from manufacturing, installing, fabrication, and cutting of artificial stone contains SILICA and that dust when it reaches the lung is HIGHLY TOXIC TO THE LUNG and that toxicity produces FIBROSIS OF THE LUNG which is referred to as PULMONARY FIBROSIS. Pulmonary fibrosis is DIFFUSE SCARRING OF THE LUNG from silica and this medical condition is called SILICOSIS.
Progressive fibrosis of the lung causes the OXYGEN LEVELS IN THE BLOOD DECREASE
Symptoms of Silicosis?
1) Shortness of breath
2) Chronic dry cough
3) Progressive fatigue
4) Unexplained weight loss
What is Silicosis?
Silicosis is an incurable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica. Treatment may include LUNG TRANSPLANTATION. Silica exposure is also associated with an increased risk for tuberculosis, lung cancer, autoimmune diseases, kidney disease, and emphysema which is a form of lung disease.
Workers making artificial-stone slabs for countertops in the United States are a risk of Silicosis, an emerging healthcare emergency that is a potentially deadly and irreversible lung disease. Recent studies by UC San Francisco and UCLA have described this growing health crisis that affects YOUNG MEN and have called for a ban on the product and better protections for employees at risk. SILICOSIS IS PREVENTABLE. Artificial stone is far more dangerous than natural stone. The onset of Silicosis is hidden as symptoms may be mild for a long duration and then may progress quickly to the point where young men will require supplemental oxygen. Others have required lung transplantation.
Diagnosis of Silicosis:
Chest x-rays, CT scans, and pulmonary function tests only become positive in advanced disease. A high-resolution CT scan is necessary for early diagnosis but is rarely ordered. Transbronchial lung biopsy may be necessary for diagnosis.
What is a Silicosis Lawsuit?
A silicosis lawsuit will involve a worker’s compensation claim AND a product liability lawsuit against those who are involved in the manufacturer, fabrication, installation, and sale of artificial stone. Products include any of the following: artificial stone siding, artificial stone veneer, artificial stone wall, artificial stone flooring, artificial stone kitchen and countertops, and artificial stone panels.
WHAT IS A PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWSUIT?
Artificial stone is a DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. Manufacturers who market artificial stone are liable for the harm caused to those who they reasonably know will cut, fabricate, sand, and assemble these products.
Manufacturers of artificial stone are subject to liability above what is available through worker’s compensation laws. They are subject to PAIN AND SUFFERING AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES.
Why the Vigna Law Group?
We are product liability lawyers. We sue the deep pockets of the national and international manufacturers of artificial stone as this is a defective product that is unreasonably dangerous. Compensation includes any or all of the following:
1) Past medical expenses
2) Future medical expense
3) Vocational loss (wage loss)
4) Pain and suffering
5) Punitive damages.