Engineered Stone Countertops are Popular and Potentially Lethal
Those working with “engineered stone” countertops are facing a workplace health crisis, thanks to dangerous products. Those who cut this material may inhale dust that can cause severely disabling lung disease. With the help of some members of Congress, the industry is trying to prevent injured workers from suing manufacturers for compensation for the harm these products cause.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC attorneys can guide you through the legal and insurance processes to help you obtain compensation for the harm caused by a defective product. Learn more by calling our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 (or toll-free at 855-385-9532).
What is Product Liability Law?
This is part of personal injury law. A successful case can hold the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, and retailer of a defective or dangerous product liable for injuries or deaths it causes.
Usually, these cases involve claims that a product is dangerous for one or more of the following reasons:
- It’s inherently dangerous due to its poor design, even if it’s manufactured perfectly, or if the purchaser is accurately told how to use it
- Something went wrong during the product’s production, making individual units dangerous even if the design is safe and the directions given are sufficient
- The product is hazardous due to its inadequate instructions or warnings about potential dangers
Any party involved in putting the product into the market may be held accountable for the harm it causes, including the following:
- Manufacturers designing and producing the product
- Distributors and wholesalers in the supply chain
- Retailers selling the product to end users
- Part manufacturers if a defective part is at least partially responsible for the injury
Kentucky product liability law generally doesn’t impose liability on wholesalers, distributors, or retailers if they sold the product as the manufacturer supplied it to them. But, they may be held liable if they knew, or should have known, that the product was defective.
Product liability claims may be based on multiple legal theories, including the following:
- Strict liability: The product is defective and inherently dangerous when used as intended. Liability can arise even if the party wasn’t negligent or intended to cause injuries
- Negligence: The party failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, manufacturing, or marketing the product, which caused the injury
- Breach of warranty: The product violated stated promises of safety or suitability or implied guarantees of safety and fitness
- Consumer protection laws: How the product was marketed or sold was untrue or fraudulent, violating applicable state or federal laws
Successful product liability claims can result in compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disability accommodations, and, in cases of extreme conduct, punitive damages to punish the party and deter similar behavior. Family members of those killed by a defective product may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim.
What is Engineered Stone?
Engineered stone (also called artificial or composite stone) is a manufactured material used for countertops and other surfaces. It’s used instead of natural stone, such as granite or marble. It’s made by combining the following:
- Pulverized crystalline silica, which is ground quartz
- Petroleum-based resins (often polyester or epoxy) that hold the materials together
- Pigments and dyes add color
- Other additives may be used for specific properties
These ingredients are mixed, poured into molds, compressed under high pressure, and cured to create solid slabs. The final result looks like natural stone but with more uniform patterns and colors. Engineered stone is generally less expensive than using natural stone.
Why is Engineered Stone Hazardous?
Engineered stone is durable because of its high silica content (often more than 90%), but that’s what makes it dangerous to work with. When workers cut, grind, shape, and polish these slabs to fit specific installations, they may create massive amounts of fine silica dust.
The level of dust can be reduced by taking precautions, including pouring water on the area being cut or shaped, and by using breathing respirators to limit the amount inhaled.
Dust particles are extremely fine and can penetrate deep into a person’s lungs, causing the irreversible scarring that leads to silicosis.
How Can Silicosis Impact a Person?
Silicosis is a devastating lung disease that progressively destroys a person’s ability to breathe. After you inhale fine silica dust, the particles become embedded deep in your lungs.
Your body’s immune response causes inflammation and scarring (called fibrosis) of your lung tissue. Over time, this scarring stiffens your lungs and impairs their function, making it difficult to breathe. The damage is permanent because this scarred lung tissue cannot heal or regenerate.
As the disease progresses, you may suffer the following:
- Severe breathlessness, even when resting
- Uncontrollable coughing fits
- Inability to perform basic daily tasks like climbing stairs or walking short distances
- Bluish skin tone due to the lack of oxygen in your body
- Respiratory failure, or having too much carbon dioxide in your body or not enough oxygen
Silicosis can quickly develop, depending on the amount of dust exposure and your susceptibility to the condition. Many of those working with engineered stone are relatively young, so they could become totally disabled while in their 20s or 30s.
Treatment may include a lung transplant, which can cause substantial medical bills, lifelong use of anti-rejection medications, and lung function may never fully recover. People with silicosis also suffer from the emotional and psychological impact of having a permanent, disabling condition that may make it impossible to financially support a family.
Silicosis increases risk for other severe health conditions, including lung cancer, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart problems.
How Common is Engineered Stone-Related Silicosis?
The value of engineered stone sold in the US in 2024 was $5.7 billion, according to Credence Research. Most of that was bought for use in homes, and sales of this material are expected to grow. As of 2018, there were an estimated 8,694 businesses in this industry, employing 96,366 workers, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Although estimates vary from study to study, the Los Angeles Times reports that some screenings in Australia found about 20% of stone workers had the disease. California workplace safety regulators estimate that out of roughly 4,000 workers in the industry statewide, silicosis will afflict from 485 to 848 of them (about 12% to 21% of the workforce), and as many as 161 could die of the condition (or 4% of workers).
A study by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) physicians found that, among dozens of California workers who developed silicosis from grinding and cutting countertops, nearly a fifth had died. Their median age at death was 46.
What are My Legal Rights if I Have Work-Related Silicosis?
Workers’ compensation should cover severe work-related injuries. That would provide you with medical coverage, partial wage replacement, and limited compensation if you become disabled. A personal injury lawsuit could provide you with more compensation, especially for pain and suffering, which isn’t covered by workers’ compensation.
If you work with engineered stone and, as a result, you’re diagnosed with silicosis, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the engineered stone supplier under product liability law.
There’s a proposal in Congress to prohibit personal injury lawsuits involving engineered stone. It’s supported by manufacturers and distributors who claim they shouldn’t be sued because the people who get injured work for companies that don’t follow safety rules. They claim it’s the failure to follow safety rules that causes these injuries, not the engineered stone.
Factually, it’s not that simple. UCSF research finds that this material is so toxic that modern dust controls and protective breathing equipment can’t sufficiently protect workers while they cut and polish engineered stone. California health data also shows that 54% of the state’s fabrication shops have reported silicosis cases, so this is an industry-wide issue, not due to isolated bad actors.
Legally, a product manufacturer may be held liable if they know their product is injuring people even if it’s being misused. For example, a pharmaceutical company making a pain medication may be liable for damages if it’s highly addictive and knows those addicted to it abuse it and suffer injuries.
Schedule A Free Consultation — Contact Us Today
You might have a valid compensation claim if you or a loved one developed silicosis from working with engineered stone. Schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case with an experienced product liability lawyer. Call 855-385-9532 or contact us online to reach our Louisville office.