3 mai, 2005 23:36
Canadians win compensation over implants
Canadian Press
TORONTO — Canadian women who claim silicone breast implants have caused them health problems will finally be eligible to receive payments from Dow Corning.
The U.S. company emerged Tuesday from bankruptcy protection related to thousands of implant liability lawsuits.
"It's likely that there would be between 2,000 and 3,000 women" affected by an Ontario class action, said Mike Eizenga of law firm Siskind, Cromarty, Ivey & Dowler.
"There are settlements in other provinces. Quebec has a class action that has been resolved," he said. As well, British Columbia filed a national class action covering B.C. and all provinces except Quebec and Ontario.
"It does mean that women throughout the country will be able to receive compensation," said Eizenga.
Payments will come from a $2.35-billion US fund that Dow Corning has set aside.
About $24.2 million will be paid out over the next seven years to compensate Ontario women who received breast implants manufactured by Dow Corning, said a news release issued by the law firm.
Compensation will also be available for some family members, as well as for women who received implants containing raw materials made by the company.
The company insists that the silicone-gel implants it made from 1962 until 1992, when they were banned for most uses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, were safe.
Most of the women involved in the Ontario class action received their implants from the mid-'70s to the early '90s, said Eizenga. "That's when the marketing of the implants was most intense."
People with implants have blamed leaking gel for illnesses including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, body aches, fatigue, memory loss and hardening of the breasts.
"The settlement pays for a condition called atypical connective tissue disease, and that really just refers to a constellation of symptoms," Eizenga said.
Ontario claimants can get instructions on filing a claim at www.ontdowcorning.ca. Quebec residents can call 514-393-5222, while B.C. and other provinces can find information at www.canadianbreastimplantsettlement.com.
About 170,000 women have filed claims over breast implants, with another 75,000 people filing claims over other kinds of silicone implants, including joint and facial implants.
Dow Corning was granted bankruptcy protection in 1995 after being faced with 19,000 lawsuits.
