First, on behalf of my office, I would like to wish each and everyone a Happy and Healthy New Years. I would like to announce the addition of Attorney Reena B. Frailich to our office Staff, who along with Gladys, Mary and Harriet will continue to do their very best to assist you on your claim during this upcoming year. Reena can be also be reached via email at: reena.smflawcorp@gmail.com

2004 was a very promising and disappointing year as it pertains to the Dow Corning Breast Implant Class Action. Last Spring things looked very promising, when I was able to assist in collecting over Three Hundred Thousand Dollars from breast implant claimants, which resulted in the final Appeal being dropped. If this final Appeal were not dropped, the Dow Class Action would not have started until the end of 2005 or early 2006. As it were, the Effective Date for the Dow Plan was set for June 1, 2004.

Many of you have been my client since 1994, when your claim should have been resolved through the Global Class Action. When the Global Class Action collapsed in 1994 and Dow Corning filed for Bankruptcy protection, I continued to stick with my clients and represented their legal interests until the Revised Settlement Program (RSP a.k.a. MDL-926 Class Action) was revived in 1995 and started to pay claims in early 1996. I have settled over 700 MDL-926 Class Action Claims, and although my original MDL-926 clients claims have all been settled, I still today continue to represent MDL-926 clients (the MDL-926 Class Action ends in 2010).

I have never lost hope or faith in my clients who had Dow Corning implants. Although I realize the Dow Corning Class Action is far from perfect (and that is really an understatement), it is the best and only thing  out there, unless you have the time, money and energy to litigate your claim, with no guarantee you will end up with any money whatsoever.

For those of you who wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel, and if you will ever see a penny of settlement money during your lifetime, I can only promise you that as long as I am working on your claim, I will make it my “quest” to see that your claim is settled. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you qualify for the maximum settlement you are entitled to. You should not give up on your claim, if I have not given up on your claim. 

The single most frequently asked question by “all claimants”, is when are they going to receive their money? They also want to know if anyone else has been paid, and why are they not receiving more current update information. Depending on when your Proof of Manufacturer forms were filed, the Claims Board has responded to the majority of my clients proof documents.

Once the Proof Documents have been accepted, the Claims Board will then place your claim in line for review of the Explant, Rupture and Medical claims, if ones were filed on your behalf. Presently, the Claims Board are sending out award notices on “Explant” and “Rupture” claims, that were filed in June/July of 2003. Yes, the Claims Board is that far behind! They state they have over 80,000 files in line for review. The Claims Board has not started to make payments on “Medical Claims” at this point, as it appears they are giving priority to Explant and Rupture claims.

At the end of June of 2004, the Claims Board issued their first checks, with the vast majority of these checks being for claimants who accepted the $2,000 Expedited Payment. I do not represent any clients who are only accepting the $2,000 Expedited Payments, so do not worry if you did not receive a $2,000 check. Claimants, who accept the $2,000 payment, waive their right to make any further claims.

Among the first batch of checks, this office received a small sprinkling of Explant and Rupture checks. It was not until at least 75 days later, that we received our second batch of checks. Most claimants are wondering what happened during this time period. It appears the Claims Office, which I earlier reported was so very organized upon my personal visit, was not as organized, as they had many setbacks and termination and hiring of employees in the Explant/Rupture departments. I do not know of anyone who received checks during this time period.

It was only until October that checks started to be issued again, the way a fountain drips water. We also received some checks in November and December, and have been informed that due to the heavy criticism the Claims Board has receiving in how they are processing the checks since June of 2004, the payment process will be sped up during 2005. The Court and Claimant Advisory Committee (CAC) are very much aware of this problem, and meetings have been scheduled between all parties this month.

I have not sent out Update letters to my clients as frequently as I used to, due to the fact that there is no real “new” news to report. I have long ago stopped accepting and believing information I receive from the Claims Board as to when claims are going to be paid, and I do not want to pass along “inaccurate” information. I would rather pass on information that is obtained from my experiences with the Claims Board, as this information is far more accurate.

If you would like additional information on your particular case, please feel free to contact or email our office. We will do our best to answer your questions. Although I cannot “personally” feel your pain and understand what is like to be feeling sick all of the time, this does not mean I do not care about you and your claim. I truly understand your complete frustration with this whole system, and how many of you feel that the system has let you down.

I promise you that I will not let you down. I will not forget about what you have and are going through, as it pertains to the health problems you incurred over the years because you received breast implants that were once declared to be completely safe and would last a lifetime. As I stated to you previously, no amount of money will ever compensate you for the years of good health you may have lost.

However, obtaining a settlement on your behalf I hope will at least make you feel there is some small level of “corporate responsibility” by having Dow Corning pay over Three Billion dollars (which they can afford) in a fund set up to compensate women who have been damaged by their products.

I am hopeful that 2005 will be the year your claim will be resolved. Your claim has not been lost and you have not been forgotten. Please be patient with this very long and arduous process, as I have to work within this slow system. As I also stated previously, I only wish I could do more.

READ PAST BREAST IMPLANT LITIGATION COMMENTARY