Road Worker's Widow Sues Rock Drilling, Respirator Companies for Wrongful Death

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. - The wife of a former highway worker has filed a wrongful death complaint against several manufacturers of earth drilling and respirator equipment, alleging that they are responsible for causing her husband's silicosis and eventual death. Crist v. Vecello & Grogan, Inc., et al., No. 04-C-64M (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Marshall Cty.).

Filed March 25 in Marshall County Circuit Court in West Virginia, the lawsuit claims that Mack Crist, who worked for Vecellio & Grogan and Ranger Construction Industries for several years as a highway construction worker, suffered significant exposure to silica dust while drilling rock throughout West Virginia.