Thursday, 2 February 2012
Legal tussles commence over faulty breast implants as Mas arrested
Jean-Claude Mas, who founded and ran French breast implant-maker Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), has been arrested because of the discovery last year that the implants sold worldwide contained industrial not medical grade gel.
PIP is now bankrupt and according to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US only has about $1m in product liability coverage for international operations.
It is likely therefore that legal action on behalf of victims will focus on the medical facilities that carried out the implants mainly in Europe, South America and Australia.
The French government advised examination and or removal of the implants in December because of the higher risk of rupture.
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It will pay for operations originally carried out for reconstruction and pursue PIP in the criminal courts for compensation.
In January the German, Dutch and Czech governments advised removal. The Welsh government said it would pay for removal for patients treated in the private market.
The UK government said that there is not enough evidence of health risks to demand automatic removal and believes that the failure rate is no greater than standard implants. The French government disagrees and believes it is much higher.
Health authorities in Brazil said the government will fine private health plans that refuse to pay for the removal and replacement of faulty breast implants sold by PIP and a Dutch company.
French officials said they arrested Mr Mas and his former deputy Claude Couty as part of a judicial probe in the south eastern city of Marseille into manslaughter and involuntary injuries.
There are thought to be about 3,000 complaints brought by alleged victims in France alone involved in this probe.
It is estimated that over 42,000 women in the UK received the implants, more than 30,000 in France, 9,000 in Australia and 4,000 in Italy. Nearly 25,000 of the implants were sold in Brazil.
The French state health system has estimated the removals could cost €60m. A spokesman is reported to have said that insurance would pay for replacement implants.
It is likely that he referred to women who had breast reconstruction surgery after cancer which is generally covered by insurance. The position of women who had breast implants for cosmetic reasons is not so clear.
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