Ohio Silicosis Surveillance Trying to Keep Up
With Expanding Silica Docket

Silicosis litigation has reached mass tort status in Ohio, where judges overseeing the litigation report that more than 300 silicosis lawsuits are now pending in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

A special docket has been created for the Cuyahoga litigation, which is being overseen by Judge Leo M. Spellacy and Judge Harry A. Hanna. A handful of cases are also underway in counties other than Cuyahoga. The majority have been filed on behalf of sandblasters who developed silicosis after years of silica exposure.

According to a Case Management Order entered in late 2002, trials in cases alleging …