The James Esparza Law Firm
Workers Compensation Lawyers
Salt Lake City, Utah
Silicosis
The
law firm of James Esparza currently represents over 30 workers
who have been harmed by silica. Many of these cases are
against the manufacturers of the respirators our clients
used, believing they were protecting themselves by using
these respirators
only to discover they were defective products.
Professions
at High Risk for Silicosis Miners, drillers, sandblasters, Construction, maritime, railroad and foundry workers, mold shake-outs or knockouts, sand screening, sand recovery, conveying, grinding, Cement, stone, clay, brick & glass production, Manufacture of paints, plastics, soaps, and detergents, Chipping, hammering, crushing, loading and transporting rock and concrete products, Shipbuilding, Welders |
Known to affect principally sandblasters, drillers, rock cutters, concrete workers and mine workers, Silicosis is a pulmonary (lung) disease caused by the inhalation of rock dust containing free crystalline silica (silicon dioxide).
Silicosis is incurable and irreversible. Options for medical treatment are limited. Silicosis is often fatal, or can lead to other diseases such as tuberculosis.
Silicosis manifests in three forms: Acute Silicosis, Chronic Silicosis (the most common) and Accelerated Silicosis. Each form has a different time frame for development in response to different levels and concentrations of exposure.
Symptoms of Silicosis include shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, chest pain, chronic cough and chronic flu-like symptoms. Often these symptoms do not show up for 10 – 30 years after exposure. Sometimes referred to as “miner’s asthma” silicosis is usually diagnosed by a chest x-ray. However, the disease is often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis, fluid in the lungs or pneumonia.
Silicosis Lawsuits claim that companies and manufacturers failed to warn of the dangers of the materials that cause silicosis or failed to take proper precautions and provide protective equipment. Silicosis lawsuits have also been filed against makers of disposable dust masks which failed to prevent exposure to silica dust.
Like many recent cases of corporate greed, this may be another example of sacrificing worker safety for increased profits... because, according to OSHA, the disease is entirely preventable with proper equipment. Adequate protection from Silicosis can be had from gas masks, respirators, and equipment specifically designed to prevent inhalation of silica into the lungs.
