Silicosis: workers' comp or a lawsuit?
If your silicosis is linked to your work, workers' compensation may help pay for your treatment and some of the pay you lose while you're off work. A lawsuit against a stone manufacturer or supplier may offer another way to seek compensation. Plenty of workers can pursue both at once, so this isn't an either-or choice.
The illness and the jobs behind it
Silicosis happens when you breathe in tiny crystals of silica dust, most often while cutting or grinding stone, concrete, or materials like them. A cough, tiredness, and a tight chest are early warning signs, and bad cases can turn deadly. People in construction, countertop fabrication, mining, and manufacturing face some of the highest risk.
Artificial stone is a man-made material found in many kitchen counters, sometimes called engineered or manufactured stone. It's made of at least 90% crystalline silica, and sawing or grinding it releases dangerous dust, even with the best dust-control equipment in place. As of July 21, 2026, California had recorded 601 cases of silicosis among workers who handled it. The toll includes at least 30 deaths, and over 100 people who've received a new lung or are still waiting for one.
How silicosis workers' comp works
Workers' comp is no-fault. You don't need to show your employer did anything wrong, only that your job made you sick. If a doctor has confirmed you have silicosis or another silica-linked illness tied to your job, you may be eligible.
Workers' compensation can help pay for medical treatment and replace part of your lost wages. Benefits and eligibility vary by state. Once you file, your employer must give you medical care, even if you never miss a shift. Approved claims usually pay out monthly.
The system has real limits, though. It won't pay for pain and suffering, and it won't pay damages meant to punish a company. All told, when it comes to the money workers lose to job-related injuries and illnesses, wages and medical bills alike, the system picks up only about a fifth of it. That gap shows up in real life: when researchers looked at 114 California countertop workers with silicosis, just 8 were getting workers' comp benefits. Many turned to public healthcare programs instead.
Filing your claim
Every state has its own system and its own rules, so what applies to you depends on where you breathed the dust. These general steps can help.
- Report the diagnosis to your employer as soon as you can, because a late report can give insurers an excuse to deny you. In California, reporting later than 30 days can cost you your right to benefits.
- Note the date of your diagnosis and keep a written log of when and how you reported it. That record matters if the timing is ever questioned.
- Collect evidence of your work history: pay stubs, job descriptions, statements from coworkers. This is what ties you to the silica dust.
- Complete the claim form for your state. In California, that means using a form that reports the illness to your employer.
- If the claim gets denied or comes back incomplete, you can appeal or send it in again. Denials happen, even with a diagnosis on paper.
If your jobs were spread across more than one state, you might have to file in each of them.
State workers' comp agencies
Each state runs its own agency. The Labor Department keeps a state-by-state list of officials where you can find yours.
- California: claims go through the Division of Workers' Compensation, which sits under the Department of Industrial Relations and is based in San Francisco.
- Texas: the Division of Workers' Compensation, part of the Department of Insurance, handles claims out of Austin.
- Florida: the Division of Workers' Compensation operates under the Department of Financial Services, in Tallahassee.
- New York: the Workers' Compensation Board, located in Schenectady.
- Pennsylvania: the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, under the Department of Labor and Industry, in Harrisburg.
- Colorado: the state's Division of Workers' Compensation is based in Denver, and it's overseen by the Department of Labor and Employment.
- Arizona: the Claims Division of the Industrial Commission of Arizona, in Phoenix.
- Washington: the Department of Labor and Industries, in Tumwater.
Silicosis disability benefits
California workers' comp includes temporary disability, which replaces part of your pay while you're off work. If a doctor finds your limits will last for life, permanent disability can kick in, and if the illness turns fatal, your family can receive death benefits. While your employer weighs whether to accept the claim, up to $10,000 in medical care is available to you.
Suing the stone manufacturers
Since workers' comp puts limits on claims against your own employer, a lot of workers turn around and sue the companies that made or supplied the stone. Most of these cases rest on failure to warn, defective design, and covering up known dangers. Your state sets a deadline, and the lawsuit has to be filed before it runs out.
Questions people often ask
What do silicosis claims usually pay?
There's no typical amount. Lawsuits vary widely: one stone worker in Los Angeles was awarded $52.4 million by a jury in August 2024, which found several countertop manufacturers and a distributor responsible. For questions about a California claim, you can call the state's workers' comp office.
If silicosis took a loved one, can my family still file?
Yes, a husband or wife, a child, or another eligible relative can usually bring a wrongful death lawsuit, meaning one filed on behalf of someone who passed away.
Will filing a claim cost me my job?
It shouldn't. In California, for example, the law forbids employers from retaliating against or firing workers who get sick on the job or ask for workers' comp. Your state agency can tell you the protections where you live.
Does my immigration status or part-time schedule matter?
In California, most workers' comp benefits are available no matter your immigration status, and temporary and part-time workers may qualify too. Rules differ in other states, so check with your state's agency.
Where to file for workers' comp in each state
Each state runs its own workers' comp system. This is the agency that handles claims in each one, from the Labor Department's list of state workers' compensation officials.