Uncertainty About Silica Diagnosis Prompts Limitations Dispute

ABERDEEN, Miss. - Parties in Mississippi are asking a state court judge to determine whether a former sandblaster waited too long to file a lawsuit against defendants in a silica case, when the plaintiff had been treated for lung-related ailments for nearly five years before bringing suit. Riggle v. Pulmosan Safety Equipment Co., et al., No. 05-230 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Monroe Cty.).

Several defendants moved for summary judgment earlier this year in Monroe County Circuit Court, claiming that Dennis Riggle was aware more than three years before filing his complaint in 2005 that he had silicosis as a result of …