All women with silicone gel-filled breast implants must register by Dec. 1 if they think that at any time in the future they might want to join the $4.2 billion class-action lawsuit against implant manufacturers, lawyers for plaintiffs in the suit have urged.
Even if a woman has so far experienced no implant-related medical problems, the lawyers say, she should register to become part of the class-action suit.
"If you have an implant and you fail to register by Dec. 1, not only can you not participate in the lawsuit at any time in the future, but you also cannot bring your own lawsuit either, so it is a very important date," said Frederick Ellis of Gilman, McLaughlin and Hanrahan in Boston, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Ted C. Bassett, of the Worcester, Mass., law firm of Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, said that he feels that there has been "a misunderstanding. Women not presently ill think there is no need to file a registration, but the court has made it clear that even if you are not ill, it is important to register now to protect yourself for the next 30 years in case you develop one of the list of diseases [linked to implants]." Those include autoimmune diseases like scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, atypical connective tissue diseases and others.
"After Dec. 1, you would be a 'late registrant,' and that might prejudice your right in the future," Mr. Bassett said. He added that qualified claimants may each receive $105,000 to $1.4 million, though the amounts may be reduced if there are large numbers of qualified claimants. There is no registration fee, and all legal and administrative fees will be paid from the settlement fund, so there is no cost to the claimant, he said.
The lawsuit, which with a $4.2 billion settlement pool is the biggest product liability settlement in history, heated up again when the Wall Street Journal disclosed Friday that the chief executive officer for Dow Chemical Co., one of two parent companies for Dow Corning, a major implant manufacturer, had made erroneous statements in court depositions and had failed to correct those statements upon realizing that they were wrong. Those disclosures, Boston lawyer Ellis said, could pave the way for Dow Chemical to be included in the global settlement. Last year, the federal judge in the class action case "dismissed out" the parent company as not liable.
But Mr. Ellis and other attorneys this week asked the judge, Sam C. Pointer Jr., in Birmingham, Ala., to compel the parent company to participate in the case.
Mr. Ellis said that including Dow Chemical is important because Dow Corning "has been threatening bankruptcy." Although the dTC $4.2 billion settlement sounds huge, he said, as many as 150,000 women are believed to have signed up already. to participate. "The viability of the case depends on getting Dow Chemical back in," he said.
WHERE TO CALL
For more information on the settlement, call (800) 887-6828 for a tape-recorded message. Or call the Claims Assistance Hotline at (513) 651-9770.