Holding Engineered Stone Manufacturers Accountable for Workplace Silicosis Injuries

When you’re diagnosed with a serious health condition, you want to know what needs to be done to improve your situation. If you’ve been diagnosed with silicosis, you have very limited medical options. The condition happens when your lungs become clogged with crystalline silica dust, and your body can’t get rid of it.

If you’ve been exposed to silica dust at worksites or elsewhere and are diagnosed with silicosis, you may be able to obtain compensation for what you’ve endured. Call Satterley & Kelley, PLLC at (855) 385-9532 to learn more.

What Is Crystalline Silica Dust?

Crystalline silica is a natural material found in rocks, sand, and soil, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It is also found in artificial products like quartz countertops, bricks, concrete, and tiles. When workers cut, grind, drill, or crush these materials, tiny dust particles fly into the air. These particles are so small that you cannot see them, but you may inhale them.

Depending on the materials used, artificial substances may be mixed in. They can also be inhaled and cause harm.

This dust is called respirable crystalline silica, or RCS. More than one million workers in the US are exposed to this dangerous dust every day. Workers who make stone countertops, work in construction, mine rock, or perform sandblasting are at the highest risk.

What Is Silicosis?

Silicosis is a lung disease that develops after a person breathes in crystalline silica dust. Once it enters the lungs, the body’s immune response tries to break it down and eliminate it, but it cannot. Instead, the lungs form scar tissue, which, over time, makes it very hard to breathe, reports the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Someone with silicosis is affected by the amount of dust they’ve inhaled, plus the body’s response to it.

There are three kinds of silicosis, according to the American Lung Association (ALA):

• Chronic silicosis develops slowly, usually after ten or more years of lower-level exposure
• Accelerated silicosis develops within five to ten years from higher dust levels
• Acute silicosis is the most dangerous kind. It may develop in weeks or months after very heavy exposure

Engineered quartz countertops used in many kitchens and bathrooms are made of more than 90% crystalline silica. That is far more silica than is found in natural granite or marble, according to Houston Public Radio (HPR). When workers cut or polish these slabs, they may inhale unsafe amounts of dust if proper precautions aren’t taken, reports NPR.

How Common Is Silicosis?

About 2.3 million people are exposed to silica in US workplaces, with two million construction workers and 300,000 in other industries, according to the ALA. An estimated 100,000 people work in the countertop fabrication industry. Safety experts believe that a large number of them may already have lung damage without knowing it. Australian studies found lung disease in over 10% of their countertop workforce.

The California state government has been actively tracking silicosis cases. More than 550 countertop workers there had been diagnosed with silicosis as of May 2026. Over 30 have died, and more than 50 have needed lung transplants.

In Colorado, a jury recently awarded $16.8 million in damages to a countertop worker with silicosis and kidney failure, reports Stone Update. They ruled that about a third of that should come from two engineered stone manufacturers. Experts say thousands more sick workers across the country have not yet been found, because most states are not actively looking for them.

OSHA started inspecting countertop workplaces in 2023, according to HPR. Since then, inspectors have visited more than 400 shops in at least 25 states. About one in five air samples taken at these shops had silica levels that were unsafe. One in three was above the level where extra health steps are required.

What Are the Short and Long-Term Effects of Silicosis?

In the short term, silicosis can cause shortness of breath, weight loss, and severe fatigue, according to the MSD Manual. Many with chronic silicosis develop difficulty breathing and cough over time.

The lung damage due to silicosis may cause lower blood oxygen levels, which strains the right side of the heart and may lead to a potentially fatal heart failure called cor pulmonale.

Those with silicosis are at a higher risk of other conditions, including the following:

• Tuberculosis (TB)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Lung cancer
• Systemic rheumatic (autoimmune) diseases

Your symptoms and side effects may vary.

Is Silicosis Curable?

The only “cure” for those severely affected may be a lung transplant, which is an extremely complex procedure that comes with its own side effects and potential problems. Only about half of those with transplanted lungs are alive five years afterward, according to the MSD Manual.

There are no proven, specific treatments for acute or chronic silicosis. Treatment is primarily supportive to improve your quality of life.

People with difficulty breathing may benefit from using bronchodilators (medications to keep your airways open and free of mucus). Physicians monitor those with silicosis for low blood oxygen and should treat them as needed. Pulmonary rehabilitation may help you with your activities of daily living.

Preventing silicosis is imperative given its severe side effects and limited treatments.

Who Might Be Legally Responsible for My Silicosis?

If you developed silicosis because of your job, more than one party may be legally responsible. This depends on your work history, your exposure, and other factors. Potentially responsible parties may include:

• Manufacturers of engineered stone and quartz products who knew their products released dangerous levels of silica dust but failed to warn workers or make their products safer
• Employers and fabrication shop owners who did not provide proper safety equipment, training, or ventilation
• Suppliers and distributors of silica-containing products who did not put adequate safety warnings on their products or sold unreasonably dangerous products
• Contractors or job site managers who failed to provide reasonably safe working conditions

There may be multiple parties responsible for your condition, all of whom may be held accountable.

What Are My Legal Rights to Compensation for Silicosis?

If you have silicosis because of exposure at your work, you may have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim with your employer and a lawsuit against the parties causing your silica exposure. Depending on your case, you may be able to recover money for past and reasonably expected future losses, including the following:

• Medical bills, which may include doctor visits, medicines, oxygen equipment, and lung transplants
• Lost wages and benefits because you couldn’t work
• Physical pain, fear, and loss of quality of life caused by your disease.

If silicosis leads to your death, your family may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

It’s important to act quickly. Kentucky’s time limit to take legal action (the statute of limitations) is one year. You have that much time to file a lawsuit after you were diagnosed with silicosis, or reasonably believed you had it. If you wait too long, you may lose your right to take legal action.

Schedule A Free Consultation — Contact Us Today

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with silicosis, schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case with an experienced Kentucky product liability lawyer.

Call 502-589-5600 (toll-free at 855-385-9532) or contact us online to reach our Louisville office.