Implant Makers Said to Agree on Settlement

The three largest manufacturers of silicone breast implants have agreed to pay nearly 80% of a proposed $4.75-billion settlement to women injured by the implants, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.

But one of the manufacturers, Dow Corning Corp., said announcing an agreement was premature. Representatives of the two other manufacturers, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Baxter International, could not be reached.

Lawsuits over implants have been consolidated in Birmingham, where negotiations between about 20 corporations and attorneys representing hundreds of thousands of implant recipients are being overseen by a U.S. district judge.

Lawyers Stan Chesley and Margaret Moses Branch, who serve on the plaintiffs’ negotiating committee, said a tentative agreement was reached Friday with Dow Corning, Bristol-Myers, Baxter and some smaller companies.

New York lawyer Perry Weitz, whose firm represents a majority of the plaintiffs, said in a statement Sunday that contributions from the three big companies plus the smaller defendants would amount to 80% of the payments.

Money from a previous settlement involving other defendants would raise the total to 85%, or slightly more than $4 billion, lawyers said.

Negotiations are continuing with Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., which has not agreed on a contribution, and General Electric Co., whose offer was rejected as inadequate.

More than 1 million American woman have gotten breast implants, about 80% of them for cosmetic reasons.

The settlement would compensate women for everything from discomfort to disfigurement.