A civil lawsuit in Warren County Circuit Court has yielded a $7.6 million judgment for a Vicksburg man suffering from silicosis, a lung disease that can result from inhaling particles.

The jury awarded the money to Robert Eastman, 67, who worked as a sandblaster from 1963 to 1991 at what was then Marathon-LeTourneau off U.S. 61 South.

Eastman developed the disease from the use of silica sand sold by a company, which knew it was hazardous but did not warn against its use, said Eastman’s attorney, Tim Porter of the Jackson firm Porter and Malouf.

Eastman filed suit in 2007 against Mississippi Valley Silica, a former Louisiana sand company, and a long list of other defendants he claimed to have shared responsibility for his illness.

The six-day trial, with Judge Isadore Patrick presiding, concluded Monday afternoon. The jury ruled that Mississippi Valley Silica Company was negligent, assigning the company 60 percent of the fault for his injuries. Actual damages awarded, which anticipate lost earnings and future medical expenses, total $4.6 million.

Jurors also awarded Eastman $3 million in punitive damages, for which Mississippi Valley Silica is solely responsible, Porter said.

Mississippi Valley Silica went out of business in 1978, Porter said, but not before knowingly selling hundreds of thousands of tons of blasting sand that was damaging to the lungs of sandblasters and others exposed to its dust.

The company is now represented by the legal firm Scott, Sullivan, Streetman and Fox of Ridgeland.

The former president of the company, Frank Bogran, testified that Mississippi Valley officials knew the silica was harmful from at least 1972, Porter said.

The plaintiffs claimed that Mississippi Valley Silica did not put warning labels on the bags of sand they sold because they did not want to scare off business.

“Their actions were completely reprehensible,” Porter said. “They kept on selling sand to the tune of 100,000 tons a year until 1978.”

Bogran left the company in 1976 because he did not believe silica sand could ever be used safely, but the company continued in operation for two more years, Porter said.

Defense attorneys laid the blame for Eastman’s illness on LeTourneau, Porter said. “They claimed LeTourneau should have known the sand was hazardous and taken precautions.”

The ruling is expected to be appealed.

Silicosis is a condition that causes inflammation and scarring of lung tissue from inhaling the dust of silica, a mineral found in sand and some rocks such as granite and slate. Crushing, grinding and blasting materials containing silica create a fine dust that, when inhaled, causes the permanent and progressing lung damage. Silicosis is characterized by shortness of breath and decreased lung capacity.

According to the National Institute for Safety and Health, silicosis is the most common occupational lung disease worldwide.

LeTourneau Technologies, a manufacturer of offshore oil drilling rigs, is located off U.S. 61 South. It was founded in 1944 by R.G. LeTourneau and eventually sold to Marathon Inc., and operated as Marathon-LeTourneau until the mid-1990s when it was acquired by Rowan Inc., based in Houston.

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com