Woman Says Skepticism of Settlement Was Justified

Debbie Wilfert wanted to put someone in jail Thursday when she heard that manufacturers of silicone breast implants may sharply reduce the compensation they promised women who claimed to have suffered health problems from the implants.

“It is a slap in the face. I don’t think suing them is enough. I think someone should go to jail,” said Wilfert, 44, who is unemployed and depends on daily doses of pain medication because of neurological damage she contends she suffered from silicone gel.

Wilfert, a former college financial aid technician, said a year ago that she was skeptical that women would receive what they were promised when the $4.23-billion product-liability settlement was announced by the implant manufacturers. At the time of the settlement, women with silicone-related problems were told they would receive between $105,000 to $1.4 million.

The implant manufacturers said Thursday that because of an unexpectedly large number of women filing claims, there is not nearly enough money to compensate them at the settlement levels.

So far, more than 400,000 women have registered as claimants, including 137,000 who say they already are sick from silicone implants.

“It was a lie and I knew it was, but I was hoping there was some good faith on their part so that they would put in more money,” said Wilfert, who is now preparing to drop out of the global settlement and go to court.

Wilfert said she is spearheading a drive to persuade Gov. Pete Wilson to extend a statute of limitation that gives California women only one year from the time they discover their illnesses to file suit against a breast implant manufacturer.

“Everyone I know involved in this litigation anticipated the number of claimants would exceed the amount of money” available in the settlement, said Ramon Rossi Lopez, a Newport Beach lawyer representing about 450 Orange County women who have medical claims related to artificial breast implants.

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Lopez said he believes the silicone breast implant manufacturers promised higher compensation simply to identify all the women who might sue them.

With the settlement threatening to fall apart because of a shortage of money, Dow Corning, one of the major breast implant manufacturers, said Thursday it is considering filing for bankruptcy protection.

That step would, at least, temporarily prevent women from pursuing separate liability lawsuits against the company.

But Lopez said he believes Dow Corning is bluffing about filing bankruptcy as a tactic to persuade the women to remain in the settlement and accept whatever compensation they can get.

“It could be that they are very serious about what they are saying, but I think they are crying ‘wolf,’ ” he said.