Silica Defense Group Files Brief in Support of Florida Medical Criteria Act

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Silica defendants have weighed in on an appeal pending in Florida over whether the state's four-year-old medical criteria requirements for asbestos-related claims may be applied retroactively. American Optical Corp., et al. v. Spiewak, No. SC08-1616 (Fla. Sup. Ct.).

In an amici brief filed Aug. 17 in Florida Supreme Court, the defendants urge the court to break the conflict among appellate courts that have decided the issue and reverse a decision that prohibited retroactive application of the statute.

Florida's Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act was signed into law in June 2005, requiring claimants to provide evidence of …