Women sue over breast implants

The jury in the first class-action lawsuit over breast implants in the United States decided yesterday that the Dow Chemical company had failed to properly test silicone for use in the human body and concealed the dangers from women and their doctors.

Some 1,800 women sued Dow Chemical, saying that silicone seeped out through the implant's flexible walls or popped out of ruptured implants causing immune system-related diseases, including aches, pains and fatigue. The women sought unspecified damages from the company. In the trial's second phase, the jurors will hear testimony about the eight defendants who are representing the 1,800 women, and then decide whether the women's implants caused the injuries they claim. AP - New Orleans