Is Silica the Next Asbestos? An Analysis of Silica Litigation and the Sudden Resurgence of Silica Lawsuit Filings

Abstract

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal suggested that the silica litigation resurgence is so great that it could rival the volume and character of asbestos litigation. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that "[a]sbestos attorneys are using the same legal machinery to generate silicosis claims, relying on a huge network of chest X-ray screeners, medical experts and local labor unions involved in asbestos litigation." In the same article, the author acknowledged that silica "[e]xposure rates in the workplace have remained unsettlingly high." Yet despite silica exposure rates being too high, silicosis related deaths are decreasing. These conflicting facts force one to question the reasons behind the sudden resurgence of silica lawsuit filings. Is the increase in silica lawsuit filings due to unsafe working conditions that have existed for years or due to plaintiffs' attorneys recent efforts to capitalize on this old occupational disease? Could silica litigation rival asbestos litigation? Is there a crisis in the workplace where employees are being overexposed to deadly silica dust? Or, is the increase in lawsuit filings simply asbestos attorneys using the same legal machinery to generate silicosis claims in order to make a quick buck?

This comment examines the possible answers to those questions while contemplating silica litigation and its potential to rival or surpass asbestos litigation's volume and character. Part H summarizes silica litigation and the history of silicosis from the first cases of the disease to the present. Part III analyzes several courts' decisions in silica lawsuits and the affirmative defenses that are relieving defendants of liability. Part IV briefly summarizes asbestos litigation. Part V considers plaintiffs' and defense attorneys' thoughts on the current state of silica litigation. Part VI compares silica litigation to asbestos litigation and explores the reasons why the two topics have recently been discussed together. Part VII concludes.