PERSONAL COMMENTARY - 01/12/07
I would like to wish a Belated Happy New Years to everyone and hope 2007 will be a healthy and happy year for you and your loved ones.
2006 was a very strange and unusual year for claimants as it pertains to the Dow Corning Class Action. Many claimants finally received their disease claim settlements while many more claimants accepted a lower settlement when their disease claim was denied at a higher level, because they were just too tired to fight Dow Corning any longer after 13 years.
In order to qualify for a Level A settlement under Disease Option One, a claimant needed to have assistance in grooming, feeding, bathing and dressing. A claimant could also not work and also needed assistance in most of their household chores. Basically, they have to be an invalid in my opinion. Many claimants are completely disabled and have qualified for disability for Social Security, State Disability and other programs, but have had their Level A claim denied by the SFDCT because they can perform at least one of the functions listed above, or they are working part time to support themselves.
This Level A standard of disability is almost impossible to qualify under, and that is why 95% of all Level A claims are denied. I am not sure the formulators of the Dow Plan meant to make qualifying for the $50,000 Level A claim so difficult, especially when you take into consideration that they also included in the Dow Plan another disease covered under Disease Option Two that pays $110,000 to claimants who only have to provide documented proof of dry eyes and joint pains with swelling, even if they are able to work 40 hours per week and can perform most of their household and self care functions.
This is not the fault of the Dow Claims Board, as they are not the ones who wrote the Dow Plan. They are only interpreting the rules and guidelines of the Dow Plan, and in many instances, they have been accused of applying the rules too stringently.
If you read my last year’s commentary, you will note that a Motion has been filed before Judge Denise Page Hood on this very issue on how the Level A disability is being interpreted by the Claims Board. To date, Judge Hood has still not made a decision and this issue is pending.
Many claimants were truly surprised that they were still alive to receive a settlement from Dow Corning. They were convinced that they would never receive one penny. Some claimants were truly grateful for the settlement they received, while other claimants still harbored great resentment towards Dow Corning for “ruining their health while lying about the safety of their breast implants.”
Many of my clients have expressed a desire to shred all the documents they have accumulated throughout the years on their case once their claim was settled, so they could put this chapter of their life behind them. At least 20 of my clients never made it to be around to receive their settlement, while several other claimants took their own lives because of the physical and emotional pain they were in.
Today the controversy still continues as to whether silicone breast implants can cause autoimmune diseases. Throughout the years so many people have asked me if it is true that silicone can cause lupus, fibromyalgia, rashes etc. Since I am not a medical doctor and I have never had breast implants, I can only base my opinion on all the medical documents I have read and all the breast implant recipients I have spoken to throughout the years.
While the medical evidence today linking silicone to autoimmune diseases is scant, the percentage of women who have had breast implants and having very similar type of symptoms is simply staggering and cannot be explained by medical science. Even though the medical profession cannot really explain why hundred of thousands of women who have had breast implants all have similar symptoms, the medical profession still today does not really “validate” a women’s complaints once they find out she has received breast implants and states that she was healthy before she received her breast implants.
On the day that the FDA announced that they were putting silicone breast implants back on the market, I was contacted by NBC, CBS and ABC for interviews. The reporters all asked the same question…..”How is this decision going to affect the women who are making claims in the Dow Corning Class Action?” I explained that the FDA decision will have no impact or bearing on any claims that are being handled through the “Settlement Facility” in the Dow Class Action. They then asked “So you mean this decision will not affect the women who are in the class action?” When I tried to explain that this decision will definitely “affect” these women, but not in the class action, they were not interested to hear anything more as they got their story.
They did not want to hear that when the FDA made their decision to put silicone breast implants back on the market, the FDA was also not “validating” any of the hundred of thousands of women who received silicone breast implants and have had health problems after they received their implants. If the FDA is saying silicone breast implants are safe, then why are so many women who received silicone breast implants so sick? WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH? I really wished I had an answer.
Stephen M. FrailichPAST COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN FRAILICH
