{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-19/brayton-purcell-npr-artificial-stone-silicosis","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-19/brayton-purcell-npr-artificial-stone-silicosis.md","title":"Brayton Purcell LLP Takes Silicosis Case to NPR","headline":"Brayton Purcell LLP Partner James Nevin and Client Jeff Rose Discuss Artificial Stone Silicosis on NPR","description":"Brayton Purcell LLP partner James Nevin and fabricator Jeff Rose took the artificial stone silicosis crisis to NPR.","section":"Business","published_at":"2026-10-19T19:53:01+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-19T19:53:01+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["James Nevin, a partner at Brayton Purcell LLP, and countertop fabricator Jeff Rose discussed artificial stone silicosis on WBUR's Here & Now on October 15, 2026.","Artificial stone is at least 90% respirable crystalline silica, with the remaining approximately 10% made up of dyes, resins, glues, and heavy metals.","California is moving forward with a ban on the fabrication and installation of artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica."],"companies":[{"name":"Brayton Purcell LLP","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000ex9y/brayton-purcell-llp","website":"http://braytonlaw.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"PR Newswire","title":"Brayton Purcell LLP Attorney James Nevin and Client Jeff Rose Discuss Artificial Stone Silicosis Crisis on NPR's Here & Now","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brayton-purcell-llp-attorney-james-nevin-and-client-jeff-rose-discuss-artificial-stone-silicosis-crisis-on-nprs-here--now-302913008.html"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Business","Brayton Purcell LLP"],"body_markdown":"James Nevin, a partner at [Brayton Purcell LLP](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000ex9y/brayton-purcell-llp), and countertop fabricator Jeff Rose discussed artificial stone silicosis on WBUR's Here & Now, distributed nationally by NPR, in an interview that aired October 15, 2026. [PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brayton-purcell-llp-attorney-james-nevin-and-client-jeff-rose-discuss-artificial-stone-silicosis-crisis-on-nprs-here--now-302913008.html) carried the firm's announcement of the segment on October 19, 2026. The interview covered Rose's illness, manufacturers' claims about fabrication methods, and California's move toward a ban on high-silica artificial stone.\n\n## Nevin and Rose Make the Case on Here & Now\n\nRose has worked in countertop fabrication for more than 18 years and told Here & Now that his illness began with a severe cough and significant difficulty breathing. He said ordinary physical activity now leaves him struggling for breath. \"I can't really walk up to the top of the stairs and have a conversation with you,\" Rose said. \"Just that little bit of stress on my lungs, I literally have to take a few minutes to catch my breath.\" Rose also disclosed that his son, who runs the fabrication shop, is sick.\n\nJames Mastromarino of Here & Now noted that artificial stone manufacturers maintain their product is not the problem and instead attribute hazardous exposures to the way artificial stone is fabricated. Rose, now a part-owner of the shop where he has worked for more than 18 years, said the shop uses completely wet machinery, masks, and other precautions. Asked whether artificial stone could be fabricated safely under those conditions, Rose responded: \"We are doing everything to abide by all of the state regulations, and thus far, the answer is no. Every test is coming back above what it should be.\"\n\nNevin said the danger cannot be separated from artificial stone itself. \"Everything changed when artificial stone came along and that's because it's uniquely toxic,\" Nevin told Here & Now. Artificial stone, sometimes called engineered stone or manufactured stone, is at least 90% respirable crystalline silica, with the remaining approximately 10% consisting of dyes, resins, glues, and heavy metals. Cutting, grinding, or polishing the material creates nano-sized, high-surface-area respirable crystalline silica dust that workers inhale, and the dyes, resins, glues, and heavy metals release volatile organic compounds during fabrication. Artificial stone silicosis is preventable, progressive, incurable, and fatal.\n\n## California's High-Silica Artificial Stone Ban\n\nThe NPR interview comes as California moves forward with its ban on the fabrication and installation of artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica. Nevin pointed during the interview to the pattern of disease following the increased use of artificial stone and to Australia's banning the fabrication and sale of artificial stone in response to the artificial stone silicosis crisis. Nevin encouraged consumers to consider recycled glass products instead of artificial stone containing high levels of crystalline silica. \"Make the choice to choose the recycled glass one instead of the crystalline silica one, because one is going to kill the worker and one isn't,\" Nevin said. He said major manufacturers and suppliers, apart from Cambria, already make and sell recycled glass versions, which he described as comparable in appearance and cost.\n\n## Brayton Purcell's Silicosis Litigation Record\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Brayton Purcell LLP won a $17.4 million verdict in 2026 in Tyler Jordan v. Cambria Co., LLC, the first artificial stone silicosis case filed in Colorado and only the third of its kind nationwide. The same records show the firm secured a $52.4 million verdict in 2024 for plaintiff Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez against Caesarstone, Cambria, and other manufacturers in an artificial stone silicosis case. The firm has recovered more than $200 million for silicosis clients in artificial stone litigation over a recent two-year period, and more than $3.7 billion for clients over its history of more than 40 years.\n\n## Earlier Artificial Stone Silicosis Verdicts\n\nA jury in California awarded a $7.1 million verdict to the family of Gerardo Ramirez-Soriano, who died from artificial stone silicosis, against Dal-Tile Distribution, LLC and Paragon Industries, Inc. for product liability design defects and failure to warn, PR Newswire reported in August 2026. A Santa Monica jury awarded a $47.03 million verdict to the family of Wilmer Ruben Martinez Paredes against Dal-Tile Distribution, LLC and Dal-Tile, LLC for negligence and product liability related to artificial stone silicosis, Morningstar reported in August 2026. In September 2026, PR Newswire reported that Brayton Purcell LLP highlighted a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation into artificial stone silicosis affecting countertop fabrication workers, detailing worker cases including Tyler Jordan and litigation against manufacturers like Cambria and Caesarstone.\n\nThe interview with Jeff Rose and James Nevin aired on WBUR's Here & Now on October 15, 2026, and a full transcript and segment are available from the firm's [announcement](http://braytonlaw.com).\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}