A groundbreaking legal battle has concluded with a $52,437,366 verdict for plaintiff Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, a 34-year-old Mexican immigrant, after a Los Angeles County jury found the accused manufacturers of artificial stone slabs responsible for his fatal accelerated silicosis. This landmark verdict marks the first of its kind in the U.S., highlighting the severe health risks associated with manufacturing artificial stone (quartz) slabs used for kitchen and bathroom countertops. The lawsuit involved over 30 manufacturers and suppliers of artificial stone slabs, many of whom settled prior to trial; however, Caesarstone, Cambria, and Color Marble went to verdict after a month-long trial. The jury found in favor of plaintiff Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez and against the three remaining defendants in the amount of $52,437,366 in damages.
Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez was represented by a trial team from the law firm Brayton Purcell LLP comprised of Gilbert Purcell, James Nevin, Daniel Morse, and Gabriela Monoz-Gomez and by Raphael Metzger and Scott Brust of Metzger Law Group. He worked in stone fabrication shops for 15 years until, at age 33, he developed accelerated silicosis, resulting in a lung transplant. However, the transplanted lungs only function for an average of 5 years, requiring him to receive repeated lung transplants to survive. Lead trial partner Gilbert Purcell of Brayton Purcell LLP stated, “On behalf of our client Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, and our entire trial team, we want to thank the jury for their courageous verdict. Thank God for the jurors and our civil justice system.” Partner James Nevin of Brayton Purcell LLP stated, “As this is the first of hundreds of trials, it was important that the artificial stone slab manufacturer and supplier defendants hear the jury’s loud and clear message: stop selling your deadly fashion products. The health and lives of these young fabrication workers are far more important than your profits. The jury heard the evidence that the defendants’ warnings, when they are in fact conveyed, are completely inadequate, and that the defendants’ products are inherently defective in that they cannot be manufactured safely. The jury rightly rejected the defendants’ efforts to blame the plaintiff’s unsophisticated tenants who never received any warnings from the defendants. The defendants have known for decades that their artificial stone products are deadly to fabrication workers, and yet they continue to sell them, in a relentless pursuit of profit over worker safety. We hope that by hearing about this verdict, more fabrication workers will come forward, having learned that they too are entitled to justice. And we hope that consumers will learn of this verdict and stop buying these deadly products.”
This case sheds light on the growing health crisis among fabrication workers caused by artificial stone slabs. While the defendants attempted to blame his silicosis on the fabrication shop that employed him, Brayton Purcell LLP represents over 150 fabrication workers with silicosis who worked in over 350 different fabrication shops. The problem is the product, not the shops. This is why Australia banned it as it is impossible to manufacture without causing workers to develop fatal silicosis. Reports indicate a surge in silicosis cases among workers exposed to quartz dust, prompting calls for stricter safety regulations. Further information about the dangers of artificial stone fabrication and the story of Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez can be found in the following resources:
The incurable silicosis cost a countertop cutter his lungs. Are these companies to blame?—Los Angeles Times
Deadly Dust—Spectrum News, Los Angeles
Artificial Stone Countertop Production Causing Deadly Lung Problems in Workers – CBS News
Emerging Health Concern: Silicosis-NBC, Los Angeles
California Bill on Silicosis Safety Measures
A License to Kill is Not a Solution: Brayton Purcell Press Release
Diseases Associated with Artificial Stone
The Silicosis Epidemic Brayton Purcell Appears in The Hill—Press Release
July 2023: Dr. Jane Fazio of UCLA and Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi of UCSF – JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)
August 2012 – Dr. Mordechai Kramer, et. al – Chest
This verdict is not only a victory for Mr. Reyes-Gonzalez but also a significant step toward greater accountability and safety in the artificial stone slab industry.
Media Contact:
Brayton Purcell, LLP
James Nevin
[email protected]
(415) 493-3531
This press release is provided by Brayton Purcell, LLP, on behalf of Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez in his landmark case against artificial stone material manufacturers.
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SOURCE Brayton Purcell LLP
