Breast implant victims in UK welcome compensation ruling
Victims of the PIP breast implant scandal are entitled to compensation
British women have welcomed a ruling in France that thousands of victims of defective breast implants should receive compensation.
A French appeal court said German company TUV Rheinland committed negligence by certifying the implants as safe.
The case was brought by 2,700 women who said they'd suffered long-term physical and mental health problems after receiving the implants.
The scandal emerged in 2010 after doctors noticed abnormally high rupture rates in women with implants produced by French company Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP.
Thursday’s ruling, which might not be final and could go to a higher court, was announced by France-based association PIPA, which represents victims.
The firm’s implants were used in hundreds of thousands of women worldwide but were filled with cheap, industrial-grade silicone which was not suitable for use in humans.
"A historical day for PIP breast implant victims"
Olivier Aumaitre, the lawyer representing the 2,700 women who brought the case, said at a news conference it was “clearly a historical day for PIP breast implant victims all over the world and for women’s rights”.
PIPA said the amount of compensation is still to be determined.
Mr Aumaitre hopes the ruling will have implications for the many other victims, although he was “not aware of other compensation wins in other countries”.
Solicitor Parm Sahota, who represents hundreds of women in the PIP scandal for law firm Slater and Gordon, said: “The decision handed down by the Court of Appeal in Paris is a positive step for our clients whose case is currently being heard in the Court of Nanterre in France.
“Whilst we’re pleased with this recent ruling, it remains to be seen if TUV will appeal this decision and how it will affect our case.
“TUV have long maintained a denial of liability in all of the class actions that have been brought against them by hundreds of women, have refused mediation, and we anticipate they will continue to look to exhaust all avenues open to them within the French court process.
“We are disappointed that their stance has caused such extensive delay but will continue to fight on.”
PIP was liquidated in 2010 and its founder Jean-Claude Mas was later given a four-year prison sentence. He died in 2019.
TUV defence lawyer Cecile Derycke has suggested the firm was targeted as a scapegoat because it was solvent.
Another TUV lawyer, Christelle Coslin, told the Associated Press: “TUV Rheinland denies all responsibility. The missing link here is the actual liable party.”
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