Silicosis Lawyers Investigating Engineered Stone and Quartz Countertop Worker Lawsuits

Why Engineered Stone Silicosis Lawsuits Are Being Pursued Now

For years, countertop fabricators worked with engineered quartz products that could contain extremely high concentrations of crystalline silica, often without understanding that the dust created during normal fabrication could permanently damage their lungs.

The problem became increasingly difficult to ignore as younger workers began developing severe silicosis after relatively short careers in stone fabrication. In 2014, NIOSH reported the first North American case of silicosis linked to quartz surfacing materials, involving a countertop worker who had spent about a decade fabricating engineered stone containing 70% to 90% crystalline silica.

By 2019, federal researchers had identified 18 engineered stone workers with silicosis in California, Colorado, Texas and Washington, including two deaths. Several of the affected workers were still in their 30s and 40s.

The number and severity of reported cases continued to rise. A 2023 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine identified 52 California engineered stone workers with silicosis, with a median age of only 45 at diagnosis. Twenty had already developed progressive massive fibrosis, 11 were referred for lung transplantation and 10 had died.

These cases are now raising questions about what stone countertop manufacturers and suppliers knew about the risks associated with fabricating high-silica products, what warnings were provided to workers and whether safer products or stronger instructions should have been available.

Saiontz & Kirk is pursuing silicosis claims for workers who spent years cutting, grinding, drilling and polishing engineered stone and later developed permanent lung disease, including claims alleging they were never adequately warned that ordinary countertop fabrication could lead to silicosis, progressive massive fibrosis and respiratory failure.

Silica Exposure May Occur Even When Dust Controls Are Used

Many countertop workers remember using wet saws, respirators, ventilation systems or other equipment intended to reduce silica exposure. The presence of those controls does not necessarily mean harmful exposure was prevented.

Stone fabrication involves multiple stages, and crystalline silica dust can be generated throughout the process.

• Bridge saws and water-fed cutting tools may suppress dust during major cuts, but workers may still perform grinding, drilling or finishing elsewhere in the shop.
• Handheld grinders and polishers may use water or dust-control attachments, but exposure can occur if water flow is inadequate or work is performed dry.
• Local exhaust and HEPA vacuum systems can capture dust near the tool, but they must be properly positioned, maintained and used consistently.
• Respirators only provide adequate respiratory protection when the correct type is used, properly fitted and worn throughout periods of exposure.
• Dry sweeping and compressed air can disturb crystalline silica dust that has settled on floors, equipment and work surfaces and put it back into the breathing zone.

OSHA requires engineering controls and respiratory protection when necessary to limit exposure to respirable crystalline silica, but workers may still experience substantial exposure over years of fabrication even when some personal protective equipment is available.

For lawsuit being investigated by our silicosis injury lawyers, the question is not simply whether a shop owned a wet saw or supplied respirators. Attorneys may need to investigate how consistently those controls were used, whether airborne silica levels remained above the permissible exposure limit, what other tasks generated dust and what warnings accompanied the engineered stone products being fabricated.

Silicosis Can Permanently Change a Worker’s Life

Silicosis is more than a respiratory diagnosis. For many stone workers, it can end a career, change family responsibilities and create medical expenses that continue for the rest of their lives.

Countertop fabrication is physically demanding work. Employees may spend long days lifting slabs, operating saws and grinders, moving materials and performing installation work that requires strength and endurance.

As lung damage progresses, workers may develop worsening shortness of breath, chronic coughing, low oxygen levels and reduced ability to perform physical activity. Advanced silicosis can progress to pulmonary fibrosis, progressive massive fibrosis, severe lung disease and respiratory failure.

A worker who once supported a family through full-time fabrication may suddenly face:

• Permanent work restrictions
• Loss of employment
• Lost wages
• Reduced future earning capacity
• Supplemental oxygen
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
• Repeated testing and specialist visits
• Hospitalization
• Lung transplant evaluation
• Lifelong medical monitoring

For workers diagnosed in their 30s, 40s or 50s, the financial impact may extend over decades.

A silica exposure lawsuit may allow an injured worker to pursue compensation for medical expenses, future medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering and other damages permitted under state law.

Families may also be able to pursue wrongful death claims when silicosis or related complications cause a worker’s death.

Silica Exposure May Cause Other Serious Health Complications

The health consequences of inhaling silica dust may extend beyond silicosis.

OSHA warns that respirable crystalline silica exposure is associated with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease, in addition to irreversible lung scarring.

Workers with prolonged occupational exposure to crystalline silica may therefore develop multiple health complications over time, including chronic kidney disease, COPD and other serious respiratory conditions.

For toxic exposure cases involving engineered stone, attorneys may review the worker’s complete medical history rather than focusing only on the initial silicosis diagnosis.

Silicosis Lawsuit Compensation

There is no predetermined silicosis lawsuit settlement amount.

The value of an individual claim may depend on the worker’s age, severity of the disease, degree of permanent lung impairment, ability to continue working and whether the silicosis has progressed to complicated disease or progressive massive fibrosis.

Silicosis compensation may include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of future earning capacity
• Permanent disability
• Pain and suffering
• Supplemental oxygen and respiratory treatment
• Lung transplant expenses
• Wrongful death damages

Cases involving advanced silicosis, respiratory failure or permanent inability to work may involve substantial long-term losses because the disease is incurable and may continue to progress even after exposure ends.

How Our Silicosis Lawyers Can Help

Saiontz & Kirk has handled personal injury and mass tort claims for more than 50 years, helping more than 100,000 individuals and securing over $1.3 billion in compensation. You can also read Saiontz & Kirk reviews from former clients to learn more about their experiences with our law firm.

That experience helps our injury lawyers build silicosis claims from the ground up, even when the exposure occurred years ago, involved multiple employers or included dozens of different engineered stone products.

Our silicosis investigation is focused on determining whether engineered stone manufacturers, distributors and suppliers may be held responsible for exposing countertop workers to dangerous levels of respirable crystalline silica without adequate warnings.

When you contact our silicosis lawyers, we will:

• Review Your Work and Exposure History: Examine where you worked, how long the exposure continued and whether your job involved cutting, grinding, drilling, polishing or installing engineered stone countertops.
• Identify the Stone Products Involved: Investigate which quartz, artificial stone or other silica-containing materials were used at your workplace, even if you do not remember every brand or manufacturer.
• Track Down Manufacturers and Suppliers: Review supplier records, invoices, product catalogs, safety data sheets, distributor information and coworker statements to identify the companies that may be responsible.
• Evaluate Your Silicosis Diagnosis: Review medical records, imaging, pulmonary function testing and other evidence documenting chronic silicosis, accelerated silicosis, complicated silicosis, progressive massive fibrosis or other serious lung damage.
• Determine Whether Warnings Were Adequate: Investigate what safety information accompanied the stone products and whether manufacturers adequately warned about the risks of crystalline silica dust released during normal fabrication.
• Document the Full Impact of the Disease: Evaluate medical expenses, future treatment needs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, permanent disability, oxygen dependence and other losses caused by silicosis.
• Determine Which State Laws Apply: Evaluate filing deadlines, product liability laws, available damages and other legal requirements that may affect the claim.
• Handle the Legal Process: Deal with manufacturers, defense attorneys, insurers and court requirements on behalf of our clients.
• Prepare the Claim for Settlement or Trial: Build the case with the evidence and resources necessary to pursue compensation through settlement negotiations or, when necessary, trial.

Workers do not need to know every engineered stone product they handled before contacting a lawyer. Our attorneys can help investigate the exposure history, identify potentially responsible stone manufacturers and determine whether a silica exposure lawsuit may be available.

Starting that investigation early may also help preserve evidence before businesses close, records disappear or former coworkers become difficult to locate.

SPEAK WITH A SILICOSIS LAWYER TODAY

Speak With A Silicosis Lawyer

Saiontz & Kirk is investigating claims for countertop workers who developed silicosis after years of cutting, grinding, drilling or polishing engineered stone and quartz products.

Our law firm can investigate the worker’s exposure history, identify potentially responsible stone countertop manufacturers and suppliers, review the medical evidence and determine whether financial compensation may be available.

Call 1-800-522-0102 or complete our free case-evaluation form to speak with an experienced silicosis lawyer about whether you may be able to file a silicosis lawsuit.

SPEAK WITH A SILICOSIS LAWYER TODAY