Jury Returns Defense Verdict in Mississippi Silica Case

PORT GIBSON, Miss. - A jury in Mississippi has returned a defense verdict at the conclusion of a week-long trial involving claims brought by a former sandblaster who developed lung injuries as a result of occupational dust exposure. Westrope v. Pangborn Corp., et al., No. 2007-38 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Claiborne Cty.).

Jurors in Claiborne County Circuit Court returned the verdict May 21 following a trial presided over by Judge Lamar Pickard. According to sources, Clemco Industries Corp., Precision Packaging and Lone Star Industries were the defendants remaining in the case when trial began on May 12.

Westrope, 73, filed the …