Pulmonary Fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis means the tissue deep in the lungs has become thick and scarred. Scarred tissue cannot move oxygen into the blood as well, so people develop shortness of breath, a dry cough, fatigue, and sometimes clubbing of the fingertips. The damage usually cannot be reversed, and it often gets worse over time.

When doctors cannot find a cause, the disease is called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute describes IPF as a lung disease in which scarring builds up over time and makes it harder to breathe. Other cases have a known trigger, including long-term exposure to silica, asbestos, coal dust, and other occupational dusts, certain medicines, radiation, and autoimmune diseases.

That link to exposure is why pulmonary fibrosis appears in litigation. Workers who cut engineered stone countertops have developed silicosis, a scarring lung disease caused by silica dust. Asbestos exposure causes asbestosis, another fibrotic disease, alongside mesothelioma. In these cases the key evidence is usually a work history showing the exposure, imaging such as a CT scan, and a doctor's diagnosis connecting the two.

Because every person's exposure and disease are different, these are individual injury claims, not class actions with equal payouts. See our pages on engineered stone silicosis lawsuits and asbestos and mesothelioma claims.