Jury Awards $14 Million in Breast-Implant Suit

A state court jury in Reno, Nev., on Monday ordered Dow Chemical Co. to pay $10 million in punitive damages to a woman who claimed that she suffered serious health problems stemming from silicone gel breast implants.

On Saturday, the eight-member jury had found Dow Chemical liable for Charlotte Mahlum’s injuries. The panel ordered the company to pay her $3.9 million in compensatory damages and to pay her husband an additional $200,000.

Mahlum, now 46, received her implants in 1985, after a double mastectomy. She testified that leakage from the implants, manufactured by Dow Corning, led to a variety of chronic and debilitating medical problems.

Attorneys for Dow Chemical, based in Midland, Mich., had argued vigorously that the company was not responsible for any actions of Dow Corning, once the world’s largest manufacturer of breast implants. Dow Corning is a joint venture of Dow Chemical and Corning Inc.

Mahlum originally sued both Dow Corning and Dow Chemical, but had to drop Dow Corning from her suit after Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy in May, citing the cost of defending itself in thousands of breast-implant suits, as well as the reluctance of its insurers to pay when some of those suits were lost.

Fredric L. Ellis, a Boston lawyer who represented Mahlum, hailed the verdict and said that it would have reverberations well beyond Reno. “This is a significant verdict because this is the first breast-implant trial in which Dow Chemical has been the sole defendant,” he said.

“This decision could really make a difference because” it shows “there is an avenue of relief for thousands of women with Dow Corning implants, despite the bankruptcy,” Ellis added.

The jury’s verdict showed that the panel rejected studies indicating no linkage between implants and medical problems, Ellis said. “The jury found that the company acted in conscious disregard of safety. That is the basis of the punitive damages. It’s time for Dow Chemical to step up and take responsibility and compensate these women,” he declared.

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But that does not appear likely. John Scriven, Dow Chemical’s general counsel, issued a statement saying that the company would pursue every legal avenue available to overturn the verdict, including an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

“We will file a motion requesting that the court set aside the verdict, on the grounds that the jury’s decision was not supported by the evidence,” Scriven said. “Additionally, we are seeking a reduction in the jury award for compensatory damages.”

It is not clear what impact Monday’s ruling will have in California. A Superior Court judge in San Diego ruled last year that Dow Chemical bore no liability for any problems caused by Dow Corning implants, but that decision is on appeal.