Miners Sue Respirator Makers, Distributors for Concealing Defects, Disease Risks

HYDEN, Ky. - Nearly a dozen Kentucky miners have sued various manufacturers and distributors of respirator equipment, alleging that the companies conspired to hide defects in their products that caused the workers to develop silicosis. Baker v. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, et al., No. 03-CI-00282 (Ky. Cir. Ct., Leslie Cty.).

In a complaint filed Sept. 17 in Leslie County Circuit Court, the miners allege that they suffered irreversible lung damage after being exposed to coal, rock and sand dust particles in the Kentucky mines, despite wearing the protective devices. The plaintiffs claim that the companies responsible for placing the …