Breast Implants

Williams Love O'Leary & Powers, P.C. has been engaged in legal action against the manufacturers of breast implants since 1986. The firm represents more than 700 women who suffer from illness we believe is caused by silicone. In 1994 a national global settlement was reached which promised to pay women substantial sums of money based on their illness and level of disability regardless of who manufactured their implants.

Unfortunately, in May of 1995, Dow Corning declared bankruptcy and the global settlement fell apart. Since that time, several manufacturers including Bristol-Myers, 3M and Baxter have settled with women through a national settlement program called the Revised Settlement Program. Several smaller manufacturers (Bioplasty, Mentor, Cox-Uphoff, McGhan) have also settled claims against their companies through mandatory settlements. Our office represented more than 250 women who rejected the national settlement programs and have settled their lawsuits through the court system.

The Dow Corning Bankruptcy Settlement has begun processing claims. The final appeal was recently dismissed and the Court established June 1, 2004 as the "effective date". All of the deadlines under the settlement are triggered by the "effective date". The first deadline is August 30, 2004 - this is for people who have not yet filed a claim - a Notice of Intent must be filed by August 30, 2004 to protect your right to pursue a claim against Dow Corning. The "opt-out" deadline is November 29, 2004. This means if you intend to reject the settlement and litigate, you must notify the claims office of that intention by November 29, 2004. Rupture claims must be filed by June 1, 2006. This is just an example of the deadlines. For additional information you may contact the Dow Corning Trust Settlement Facility at 1-866-874-6099 or at www.dcsettlement.com .

For people who had implants manufactured by Dow Corning, settlement payments are based on illness and level of disability, ruptures and removals. For people who had implants manufactured by other companies but whose implants contain Dow Corning gel, settlement payments are based on illness and disability, but those payments may be off set by settlement payments received from the implant manufacturer.

It has been a long, hard battle against the manufacturers of silicone breast implants. While many of the women's claims have been settled, there remain a lot of very sick women who have a difficult time finding doctors who believe implants make them sick, who take their illness seriously, and who are willing to search for helpful treatments. Williams Love O'Leary & Powers has been committed to helping our clients feel they are not alone in this ongoing battle. We are continuing our efforts to provide information to our clients, to look for sympathetic doctors and to support researchers to validate the connection between silicone breast implants and illness.