Silicotic Miners Sue Respirator Makers, Suppliers in Madison County

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Coal miners who claim they developed silicosis because the respirators they wore did not adequately protect them from inhaling dangerous levels of sand, rock and coal dust have filed lawsuits in Illinois against the manufacturers of the devices and the companies that supplied them. Morris v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, et al., No. 03-0-1987 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Madison Cty.).

In separate complaints filed in Madison County Circuit Court in December, three former miners allege that the defendants marketed and sold the respirator device despite their knowledge that the products would not sufficiently protect wearers from harmful …