California Jury Returns Verdict for Silica Defendant in Mixed Dust Case

LOS ANGELES - A California jury has rejected claims by an autobody worker who claimed that crystalline silica contained in a filler product caused him to develop interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Gutierrez v. Bondo Corp., et al., No. BC256947 (Calif. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.).

Jurors returned the verdict April 26 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court following a 10-day trial, finding that defendant Fibreglass Evercoat was not liable for the lung injuries suffered by Jose Gutierrez.

Gutierrez sued Fibreglass Evercoat and several others, alleging that his exposure to silica, talc, titanium dioxide and aluminum oxide in autobody filler caused …