SILICONE BREAST IMPLANTS

Abstract

To partially preserve a massive settlement for women who claim silicone breast implants made them ill, three major implant makers have put together the broad outlines of a new settlement offer. Without an agreement, thousands of new implant cases could clog federal and state courts with protracted and expensive lawsuits. Under the proposed deal, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter Health Care, and 3M would compensate women who can prove they received at least one implant from one of the three companies and suffered from a disease associated with the implant. The three have offered an open-ended, 15-year financial commitment to provide payments to women who can prove they suffered from implant-related diseases. The new settlement offer came after Judge Sam C. Pointer Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, determined that claims against a prior $4.2 billion global settlement would far exceed available funds due women who report injury from breast implants ...