Brayton Purcell LLP announces $17,450,000 Verdict In The First Colorado Artificial Stone Countertop Fabrication Silicosis Case

NOVATO, Calif., May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 30, 2026, in Denver, Colorado, in the case of Tyler Jordan and Caitlin Jordan v. Cambria Co., LLC, et al., Case No. 2024CV31180, a unanimous jury assessed a $17,450,000 verdict on behalf of Tyler Jordan against Cambria and Hyundai USA LLC.  This was the first artificial stone silicosis case ever filed in Colorado, and only the third artificial stone case to reach verdict in the country.  Tyler was diagnosed with silica-caused chronic kidney disease and artificial stone silicosis at age 28 after working at Jordan Marble and Granite, his parent's countertop fabrication shop, for only 10 years.

Cambria was found liable for misrepresentation.  Hyundai was found liable for negligence and misrepresentation. 

The jury's damages findings were economic damages of $7,600,000, non-economic damages of $1,650,000, impairment damages of $7,600,000, and loss of consortium for Caitlin Jordan of $600,000 for a total of $17,450,000. 

Cambria was found to be 32% at fault, and Hyundai was found to be 3% at fault. 

The plaintiffs were represented by associates Evan Hoffman, Leah McMorris, Grecia Perez, and partner James Nevin, of Brayton Purcell LLP.

Cambria was presented by Claire Weglarz and Khaled Taqi-Eddin of Womble Bond Dickinson.

Hyundai was represented by Rey Yang and Johanna Boktor of the Yang Professional Law Corporation.

Plaintiffs' experts were Dr. Michael Ellenbecker, CIH (certified industrial hygienist), Dr. Cecile Rose, M.D. (pulmonologist, also the treating doctor), Dr. Stefan Tullius, M.D. (kidney transplant), and James Mills (forensic economist).  

Defendants' experts were Paul Gantt (safety engineer) and Pablo Sanchez-Soria (CIH and toxicologist). 

The jury heard evidence that crystalline silica artificial stone is uniquely toxic due to its high 95% content, nano-size high-surface area silica, mixed with toxic metals and toxic resins, making it only safe to fabricate into a countertop by a human wearing a class A hazmat suit.

The jury found that the employer Jordan Marble and Granite (JMG) had known that natural stone with regular crystalline silica was dangerous and therefore they followed the OSHA safety protocols of wet fabrication, ventilation, and masks.  These methods historically prevented silicosis in all natural stone countertop fabrication workers.  However, the defendants mispresented their uniquely toxic artificial product to JMG as "pure natural quartz", with no warnings about the unique and extreme artificial stone silicosis hazard, causing them to believe that the safety protocols used for natural stone would keep their workers safe. 

Despite the misrepresentation, Cambria and Hyundai blamed JMG the employer for believing them.

Tyler Jordan represents just one of the first of many thousands of young artificial stone countertop fabrication workers developing fatal artificial stone accelerated silicosis and other silica-diseases such as chronic kidney disease, autoimmune disease, and lung cancer from just a few years of exposure to uniquely toxic artificial stone.  

The Jordan verdict is the second jury to find that crystalline silica artificial stone manufacturers and distributors failed to adequately warn or mispresented the hazards to countertop fabricators of the extreme toxicity of their products.  Juries have now repeatedly rejected the defense claims that artificial stone can be safely fabricated through training, wet cutting, or respirators, instead finding that the material itself poses an unacceptably high risk.

"This verdict is about accountability. The employer JMG acknowledged their partial responsibility for believing the misrepresentation from the defendants. But, the artificial stone manufacturers Cambria and Hyundai refused to accept their own responsibility for causing Tyler Jordan's fatal diseases.  The jury held them accountable," said Evan Hoffman at Brayton Purcell LLP.

"Tyler Jordan did everything he was told to do, working in a family business and trusting that dangerous products would come with honest warnings," said Leah McMorris at Brayton Purcell LLP. "The jury saw through the defense narrative and delivered justice—not just for Tyler, but for the many other young workers facing the same fate."

"This case is yet another confirmation of what doctors, scientists, and juries are saying: crystalline silica artificial stone is not just hazardous—it is inherently unsafe for human fabrication into countertops," said James Nevin, partner at Brayton Purcell LLP. "No amount of water or PPE can make a product safe when its basic defective design releases high-content nano-sized silica/metal/resin particles that permanently damage the lungs, kidneys, and numerous other organs."

Artificial stone manufacturers have continued to profit while workers and their families bear the fatal consequences. Juries across the country are unwilling to accept defenses that blame workers or small fabrication shops for systemic failures originating with crystalline silica slab manufacturers and distributors.

As regulatory agencies consider bans on crystalline silica artificial stone, verdicts like this one provide concrete, real-world confirmation of what the medical evidence has long shown. Artificial stone silicosis is entirely preventable—but only if the uniquely toxic product itself is removed from the stream of commerce.

"This verdict sends a clear message," said Nevin. "When manufactures and distributors choose profits over the health and lives of workers, juries will step in where regulators have failed."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
JAMES P. NEVIN, ESQ.
[email protected]
(415) 493-3531

SOURCE Brayton Purcell LLP