Economic restitution is in sight for thousands of American women who received breast implants manufactured by Dow Corning; a $3.2-billion deal-mediated by University law professor Francis McGovern-has been brokered between the claimants and the chemical giant.
The agreement is in the process of being expanded from a general outline to a large, comprehensive settlement, according to McGovern.
The preliminary settlement between Dow Corning and the claimants was established July 8. After several months of stalled negotiations, McGovern drafted a rough proposal and sent it to each side, essentially saying to them, "take it or leave it." Although McGovern admits it was a, "high-risk, unusual technique for a mediator to do," it was successful. Within a week both parties agreed to the general proposal.
McGovern was chosen by Judge Arthur Spector of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to mediate the Dow Corning suit because he mediated an earlier suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and 3M. He has also mediated many other personal injury settlements over the last two decades, ranging from asbestos poisoning to DDT.
The acceptance of this proposal was not without reservations. McGovern cites eight issues of contention between the parties. McGovern and legal representatives endured 21 hours of negotiations Sept. 10 to settle these issues successfully. The specifics of the meeting are confidential.
Compensation will be awarded on a sliding scale relative to the severity of ailments. The most severe ailments include lupus, scelroderma and other autoimmune diseases. Also included in the settlement is money allocated for women who are not experiencing any complications but will be compensated for the psychological stress placed on them by the uncertainty of the health risks involved with implants. Dow Corning will pay for the removal of those who no longer want the implants.
Breast implants have been under fire since 1992 when David Kessler, then head of the Food and Drug Administration, called a moratorium on silicone breast implants amid claims that they caused disease.
In 1994, the largest class-action settlement in history was drafted between the claimants and Dow Corning, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and 3M. All other companies have reached settlements with claimants.
Despite implant manufacturers' willingness to reach a settlement, scientific evidence of any negative health affects remains unclear.
"Our studies described here indicate that silicone does inhibit the functions of natural killer cell activities and that this inhibition is reversible," stated University of Texas Health Science Center clinical assistant professor Andrew Campell on the web site for the United Silicone Survivors of the World. Natural killer cells are critical to the immune system.
On the other hand, J. Sanchez-Guerrero, in a 1995 New England Journal of Medicine article stated, "In a large cohort study, we did not find an association between silicone breast implants and connective-tissue diseases, defined according to a variety of standardized criteria, or signs and symptoms of these diseases."
Lawyers for the claimants and Dow Corning declined to comment on the pending case.
The News York Times News Service contributed to this story.
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