Slee Blackwell partner, Oliver Thorne, the UK lawyer leading the fight on behalf of British PIP breast implant victims who have been unable to claim compensation in this country, has just returned from Paris. He had been in the French capital to hear the ruling of the French Supreme Court, which offers hope to PIP victims who feared they would never achieve justice.
The French Supreme Court, or Cour de Cassation, declared that the French Court of Appeal had made a mistake in not requiring German company TUV Rheinland, which certified the PIP implants, to pay compensation to PIP victims.
The court therefore upheld the earlier decision of the judges of the Toulon Commercial Court who, on three occasions, ordered the German company to compensate PIP victims.
Slee Blackwell, who have been involved in PIP breast implant claims since the scandal broke, teamed up with French lawyer Olivier Aumaitre in 2014 so that UK victims – who were unable to claim compensation through the English courts – could recover the compensation they rightfully deserved.
Oliver, who already represents hundreds of women alongside Monsieur Aumaitre, is encouraging other British women to come forward and join new PIP breast implant claims proceedings before 17 December 2018, the date which the first hearing which is scheduled for.
Commenting on the French court’s ruling, Oliver said:
“This is an excellent outcome for women all over the world who have endured both physical and emotional pain and suffering as a result of their PIP implants”
“It is my hope now that women who have yet to be compensated for the fact they were given PIP breast implants, will now come forward and seek the compensation they are entitled too.”
Olivier Aumaitre added:
“This is a good decision for the consumer whose interests and health are protected by the European system and for the European economies, which are partly based on the reputation of CE marking. This is a complete failure of the arrogant and threatening strategy of the German certifier, who showed a deep contempt for the victims, and who preferred to spend millions of euros unnecessarily on lawyers’ fees and on communication and denigration operations, rather than assume its responsibilities by repairing what was reparable.”
Initial indications from the courts in similar cases assess the average compensation being between €10,000 and €20,000 per patient. The total bill could amount to €6 billion for TUV Rheinland.
It is estimated that there are potentially, 400,000 women worldwide who received PIP implants. 47,000 of these could be in the UK.
