$25 Million Awarded in Implant Suit

A Texas jury awarded $25 million in damages Wednesday to a Houston woman who maintained that she developed an autoimmune disease from ruptured silicone-gel breast implants made by a Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. subsidiary.

In one of the biggest damage awards against a manufacturer of silicone implants to date, the Harris County jury ruled in favor of 45-year-old Pamela Jean Johnson’s case against Medical Engineering Corp. Johnson, who had sought $64 million in damages, charged that silicone leaked from two sets of implants, attacked her immune system and caused various illnesses, forcing her to have a partial mastectomy.

Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose stock tumbled $3.875 to close at $67.375 on the New York Stock Exchange after the ruling, said it will appeal the verdict.