Two years after Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) executives sparked a global scandal when they admitted that they'd sold substandard silicone breast implants for years, patients broadsided by the action are seeking justice. Hundreds of affected women in Argentina slapped the defunct company with a $53.5 million class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for the resulting trouble.
As Euronews reports, close to 300 Argentine women filed a collective PIP lawsuit in a Buenos Aires court. According to the story, the women's attorney expects hundreds of additional women to join the legal action over time. But PIP isn't the only target. German quality-control company TÜV Rheinland and German insurer Allianz are also named in the suit, the article notes.
Major fallout has continued in the wake of PIP's actions. For one thing, 5 PIP executives, including founder Jean-Claude Mas, are waiting for a fraud trial verdict in France, with a decision expected in December, according to the story.
But health concerns over the PIP implants also continue to spread. Sweden's health regulators, for example, want all women in the country with the faulty PIP breast implants to have them removed, citing ongoing safety concerns.
Britain's National Health Service, on the other hand, was left covering the cost of removing the PIP implants in thousands of patients, and an advisory panel is calling for a national registry for breast and cosmetic implants. And in Scotland, hundreds of women are lobbying health officials to back removal of the PIP implants and also support reconstructive surgery in the wake of all the troubles.
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