October 28, 1995
Web posted at: 9:50 p.m. EDT
RENO, Nevada (CNN) -- Dow Chemical was ordered Saturday to pay $3.9 million in compensatory damages to a woman who sued over faulty breast implants.
The same Washoe District Court jury is scheduled to return to the courtroom Monday morning to decide how much in punitive damages the giant Michigan company should pay.
The verdict is considered a landmark decision, setting a precedent that could lead to similar verdicts in more than 13,000 implant suits pending against Dow Chemical.
The plaintiff, Charlotte Mahlum, sued Dow Chemical and Dow Corning in 1993, alleging her serious health problems discovered in 1985 were caused by breast implants. The jury also awarded her husband $200,000 in compensatory damages. On Monday, it will decide if any punitive damages are due.
In a statement read by Dow Chemical spokesman John Musser, the company attempted to downplay the significance of the verdict and said it would appeal.
"We're disappointed that the jury was influenced by emotion, misinformation and the big lie strategy used by the plaintiff's lawyers, but we believe this verdict is not precedent setting, given the unusual aspects of this case," Musser said. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and we will prevail." (214K AIFF sound or 214K WAV sound)
It's the first such ruling against Dow Chemical, which supplied some of the chemicals used in the implants but did not manufacture the implants. They were made and sold by Dow Corning, a company that is 50 percent owned by Dow Chemical.
Dow Corning was initially named in the suit, but was dropped from it after being forced into bankruptcy by thousands of similar lawsuits.
"Dow Chemical is not and never has been in the silicone business," Musser told reporters. "Dow Chemical never made these devices, never researched and never sold them and never offered any opinion on their safety."
Despite the setback, Dow Chemical promised to continue the fight.
"We will absolutely not settle this case," said Marsha Rabiteau, a Dow Chemical lawyer. "We intend to pursue the avenues we have to ask this court in Reno reconsider the judgment." (183K AIFF sound or 183K WAV sound)
Rabiteau suggested an appeals court would overturn the verdict based on the trial court's error in not allowing the jury to see certain scientific studies the company believes would have helped their case.
"What appears to have been lost on this jury is the fact that none of the studies that have been done to date have found a connection between breast implants and any of the diseases plaintiffs alleged in these lawsuits are caused by breast implants," Rabiteau said.
The company said 18 medical research studies found no connection between breast implants and the kinds of symptoms and illnesses alleged in the lawsuit.
While there are 13,100 other implant suits pending against Dow Chemical, none has been scheduled for trial.
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