Fw: $10 Million Award in Scleroderma Suit ~ Sweet Victory!

[Guest guest]

This was a victory 2 years ago to a lawyer with silicone gels, but again, it

is worth sharing!

>

> www.washingtonpost.com

> Page B1

> 1/5/99

>

> 10 Million Awarded In Breast Implant Suit

> Doctor Blamed Scleroderma on Silicone

>

> By Bill

>

>

> A federal jury awarded $10 million yesterday to a

> Washington lawyer who claimed that the silicone breast

> implants she received 21 years ago have caused a

serious

> disease that threatens to permanently disable her.

>

> G. Meister contended that leaking implants

caused

> her to develop scleroderma, a debilitating illness that

> affects connective tissue. Since the disease was

> diagnosed in 1987, a decade after she got the implants,

> numerous problems have developed, according to her

> doctor. Her skin has hardened, her fingers have

swollen,

> and calcium deposits the size of tennis balls have

> formed in her back and hips, causing her to walk with a

> limp.

>

> The verdict against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. goes

> against the tide of recent decisions in breast-implant

> cases, which have tilted in favor of manufacturers.

> Bristol-Myers hadn't lost in nearly six years,

> prevailing in its last six jury cases. But the jury in

> U.S. District Court here was not swayed by the

company's

> arguments and found that Meister's implants led to her

> disease.

>

> " This should be a tremendous encouragement to women to

> keep fighting, " said L. Weltchek, one of

> Meister's attorneys. " That's the message. "

>

> Conlon, an attorney for Bristol-Myers, called the

> verdict " an aberration " and said the company will ask

> Judge B. to set it aside. He said the

> verdict is " very inconsistent with the state of the

> science. "

>

> The award comes a month after a panel of scientists

> appointed by a federal judge in Alabama issued a

> well-publicized report finding no definite ties between

> the devices and numerous diseases. After the report

came

> out, an official from Bristol-Myers declared, " Breast

> implants are safe. " did not permit the panel's

> report, which came out during the trial, to be used as

> evidence.

>

> The jury was persuaded by Meister's doctor, who

> testified that he had concluded " with absolute

> certainty " that her implants led to scleroderma.

>

> Meister, 56, who lives in Arlington, declined to

comment

> on the verdict. Her implants were manufactured by

> Medical Engineering Corp., a firm based in Racine,

Wis.,

> that was acquired in 1982 by Bristol-Myers. Her lawsuit

> alleged that Medical Engineering made a defective and

> " unreasonably dangerous " product. It blamed

> Bristol-Myers for failing later to adequately warn

women

> of potential hazards. According to her lawsuit, both

> companies intentionally deceived women by making false

> representations about the safety of implants.

>

> The jury sided with Meister on each of those

> allegations. However, the panel -- nine women and one

> man -- rejected her bid to obtain millions more in

> punitive damages, saying she failed to prove malice or

> outrageous conduct.

>

> Bristol-Myers, which stopped making implants in 1992,

> denied all of Meister's charges on behalf of itself as

> well as Medical Engineering.

>

> " While not available to this jury, the testimony of the

> independent National Science Panel can be considered by

> courts in future cases on defendants' motions to

dismiss

> disease claims and also can be presented to juries in

> cases which proceed to trial, " the company said in a

> statement issued yesterday.

>

> The trial included more than three weeks of conflicting

> testimony by medical specialists about long-standing

> claims that implants can cause diseases of the immune

> system, such as scleroderma, lupus and rheumatoid

> arthritis. Medical concerns led to a flurry of lawsuits

> against Bristol-Myers and other implant manufacturers

in

> the late 1980s, some ending in large jury verdicts. The

> Food and Drug Administration temporarily pulled the

> devices from the market in 1992, demanding that makers

> demonstrate the silicone-gel implants were safe.

>

> Since then, a series of studies -- contested as biased

> or flawed by plaintiffs' attorneys -- has found no

clear

> link between implants and classic diseases of the

immune

> system, although none has ruled out a link to rare

> diseases or an atypical disease. Additional studies are

> underway.

>

> Several medical specialists testified for the defense,

> all finding no apparent dangers.

>

> Meister's attorneys, Weltchek and L. Snyder,

> countered with testimony from her doctor, a Washington

> rheumatologist. G. Borenstein said he treated

> Meister for seven years, starting in 1987, before

> concluding her scleroderma could be traced to the

> implants. Borenstein testified that Meister had a

> unique, or atypical, kind of scleroderma that he said

> appears to target women who had implants. He said that

> Meister's skin condition and difficulties with

breathing

> improved after her implants were removed in 1991, signs

> to him that the devices caused her problems.

>

> However, Borenstein said, Meister will be unable to

work

> by age 60 because she will have trouble walking,

> standing and sleeping.

>

> A huge backlog of implant cases is pending. Former

> implant maker Dow Corning Corp. recently reached a $3.2

> billion bankruptcy settlement involving roughly 170,000

> women. In their statement, Bristol-Myers officials said

> they intend to " vigorously defend " remaining implant

> cases against the company.

>

>