Jeweler Alleges Silica-Related Injuries in Suit Against Equipment Makers, Sand Supplier

FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Florida jeweler has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he developed silica-related lung disease as a result of his exposure to dust while manufacturing and buffing jewelry. Hughes v. American Tripoli, Inc., et al., No. 04-485 (M.D. Fla.).

In a complaint filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jack Hughes claims that the manufacturers of materials Hughes used in making his jewelry failed to warn him of silica-related health risks that were a foreseeable result of his work.

Hughes alleges that he was exposed to silica through the use …