British women who were victims of PIP breast implant scandal in line for compensation, court rules
‘It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest’: British victims of breast implant scandal reveal ordeal as court ruling puts 10,000 of them in line for five-figure payouts
- French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) used industrial-grade silicon in breast implants, many which ruptured
- The implants had double the rupture rate of others and caused pain to users and left silicon in their chest wall
- German firm TUV Rheinland, who issued safety certificates for PIP implants, were ‘negligent’ a court ruled
- The German firm denied being negligent and denied knowing the industrial-grade silicon was being used
- Paris Court of Appeal today ruled 2,500 women worldwide are now entitled to pay-outs due to the scandal
- Among them are 540 British women who say they have suffered health effects – including ‘burning pains’
- Were you impacted by PIP scandal? Contact us via email to james.robinson@mailonline.co.uk
Thousands of ‘elated’ British women who were victims of one of the worst breast implant scandals in recent history could receive compensation after a court ruling today.
A judge in Paris this morning ruled in the favour of 540 women from the UK – and another 2,000 from across the world – who were impacted by the shocking Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) scandal.
The scandal involved the now out-of-business French firm PIP using industrial-grade silicon intended for mattresses in their breast implants.
They had double the rupture rate of other implants and caused extreme pain and long-term health effects to those who used them.
One woman told MailOnline she was left with a ‘horrible burning sensation’ in her chest after her PIP implants ruptured.
Janey Byrne, from Lincolnshire, said: ‘It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with something hot. I had trouble sleeping at the time. And some of the silicone is still there in my chest – it’s a worry.’
Mrs Byrne said she had the implants removed shortly after hearing about the scandal. But she has since had eight operations to have parts of the leaked silicone taken out – at the personal cost of around £20,000.
Receptionist Mrs Bryne said she had not yet pursued legal action, but is now considering it. And she said she is ‘relieved’ by the outcome of today’s case.
Another victim, Gail Coxon, also revealed the ‘terrifying’ experience she suffered with PIP implants, which she had in 2006 – four years before the extent of the scandal was revealed.
Ms Coxon told the BBC: ‘I had gone from being bright and vibrant and bubbly and full of energy to feeling like I was an old woman, and it was just horrendous and got progressively worse over the years until I had them removed.
‘I honestly thought I was going to die at the time, it was really terrifying to go through.’
She said she felt a ‘huge sense of relief’ after hearing of the court’s decision. Ms Coxon added: ‘I can’t explain it, I have burst into tears I don’t know how many times this morning. You finally feel that we have been listened to and that’s the biggest thing.’
Another victim, Jan Spivey, was given PIP implants after she had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. She told the BBC she was ‘elated and exhausted’ following today’s court ruling.
Jane Byrne from Lincolnshire told MailOnline she was left with a ‘horrible burning sensation’ in her chest after her PIP implants ruptured.
PIP implant scandal victim Gail Coxon (pictured left) spoke to the BBC about her experience. One victim of the PIP scandal, Jan Spivey (pictured right), was given PIP implants after she had a mastectomy due to breast cancer
What is the PIP scandal?
French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which is now out of business, was found to have made silicon breast implants using silicon intended for mattresses, not for medical use.
PIP implants were withdrawn from use in the UK in 2010, but by it is estimated 47,000 woman had the implants before this happened.
20,000 women sued the company responsible for testing the implants – TUV Rheinland – and were awarded £2,600 each.
PIP implants are not though to pose any serious health risk, but are two to six times more likely to rupture.
If they rupture they should be removed because they can become misshapen and cause pain, swelling and enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit.
The NHS does not recommend women having PIP implants removed unless they are problematic – women can discuss the implants with their surgeon if they are concerned.
Most PIP implants were used in private clinics and hospitals, but a small number were given in NHS operations for women who had breast cancer surgery.
Source: NHS
Ms Spivey, the co-founder of PIP Action Campaign, said: ‘It’s been a very long journey. We’ve been in and out of court, and that’s been really difficult for women.
‘We’ve got health issues and we’ve got lots of other responsibilities too – PIP has had an impact on the whole of our lives.’
Another, Nicola Mason said the decision was ‘great news’.
Speaking to BBC News on Thursday, Ms Mason, who has been left with a lump of silicone under her arm after her implant ruptured, added: ‘We have been waiting a long time for this.
‘Whilst it will never compensate us for the potential long-term health issues that we have, at least it might go some way to paying us back the money we have had to pay out to repair the damage they have left us with.’
The scandal involved French firm PIP, whose founder, Jean-Claude Mas, who was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud in 2013, and died in April 2019, aged 79.
The French firm went out of businesses in 2010 following the scandal.
But today’s ruling involves the German company TUV Rheinland, which originally awarded European safety certificates for the faulty implants and were sued for negligence.
The company has maintained it was diligent and said that at no time was the company aware that breast implants manufactured by PIP were not compliant.
But the court today upheld an earlier judgement which found the firm had been negligent.
The scandal affected some 300,000 women in as many as 65 countries across the world.
The Paris Appeal Court today ruled that more than 2,500 women, who brought a case against TUV, are entitled to pay-outs.
And experts believe the ruling could have a knock-on for 20,000 other victims – around half of who are British – who are taking separate legal action.
The amount of compensation due for the 2,500 women involved in today’s court ruling has not yet been decided.
But the PIP Implant World Victims Association (PIPA) says it is seeking ‘tens of thousands of euros’ in damages for each victim.
Paris barrister Olivier Aumaitre, who represents the women in today’s hearing, said: ‘We are delighted with this outcome which definitively puts an end to the doubts about TUV’s responsibility.
The founder of PIP, Jean-Claude Mas (pictured in 2013) was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud in 2013. He died in 2019 aged 79
‘After 10 years of waiting and fierce combat, the German certifier will have to fully compensate the victims.’
TUV was ordered by a French court in 2017 to pay £52million (€60million) to 20,000 women who received the implants.
The firm was found liable over the global 2010 scandal when it emerged that PIP had made implants with substandard silicone.
But TUV appealed, and victims awarded compensation were issued with legal papers warning them they may have to pay back some £2,500 each.
Campaigner Ms Spivey said at the time: ‘The idea women may have to pay back money intended to help them is morally bankrupt.
‘That TUV are trying to attack the integrity of the victims’ claims is scandalous.
‘My PIP implants from 20 years ago are still impacting on my life and my health and my wellbeing, even today’ said Ms Spivey.
‘I think I’ve been angry every single day for the 20 years I’ve been affected by PIP.’
TUV has maintained that it was not responsible for what the implants were made of, only the way they were produced.
Mr Aumaitre said today’s judgement was hugely important for thousands of other victims.
‘We will probably reach a turning point,’ said Mr Aumaitre.
‘A positive decision will probably put an end to the long period of doubt we’ve been going through during so many years.’
As reported last year by MailOnline, TUV launched an appeal against a court’s 2017 decision to award compensation to PIP’s victims.
Some 13,000 victims awarded compensation were then issued with legal papers warning them they may have to pay back the money if they are successful in court.
TUV Rheinland said at the time they had been forced to send papers directly to victims’ homes as the legal team representing the women had failed to register with the court, in compliance with French law.
The firm warned earlier that year: ‘As the claimants should have been advised by their lawyers, they will have to reimburse the provisional amounts paid to them if TUV Rheinland wins on appeal.’
Sarah Higginson, from Andover in Hampshire, was awarded an payout of £3,000 in 2017 for implants she had in 2008, leaving her with £2,085.48 after legal fees.
The 39-year-old told the BBC in 2019 that the visit by bailiffs left her suffering with anxiety and panic attacks and she feared if the appeal was successful money would have to be paid back.
Victims who were sent legal letters in 2019 included Stephanie Lee (left) and Amanda Carter (right)
She said: ‘We had to wait years for the small amount of compensation we did get and that didn’t even cover the cost of the surgery and now we’re getting this treatment with people turning up with papers left, right and centre.
‘It is causing long term mental damage. It’s all of that on top of that worry about what’s inside you.’
Amanda Carter, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, had PIP implants in 2002. Speaking about the legal letters in 2019, she said: ‘It’s been hugely concerning.
‘A lot of women are concerned that a bailiff at their door means that they can come in and take their possessions and a lot of people have presumed they are there to collect.’
Stephanie Lee from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, had the implants in 2008.
She said after receiving the papers in 2019: ‘It’s terrifying. It’s like having a court summons. You think, is a bailiff suddenly going to turn up at the house and take stuff away?’
A spokesman for TUV Rheinland declined to comment on today’s judgement, saying the company wanted first to study a translated version first.
The first ruling on compensation is expected in September.
The victims of the PIP scandal tell their story:
Jo Houghton
Jo Houghton was 24 when she made the decision to have implants.
Like many others, she hoped the implants would help with her self-confidence issues.
Jo Houghton was 24 when she made the decision to have implants
But the nightmare started immediately for Jo, who woke up with implants three cup sizes larger than she expected.
And it soon became worse when she began having allergic reactions.
She told MailOnline: ‘Every few months I would have massive allergy reactions and they would come up in unbearable hives and each time I had a reaction over the years the symptoms got worse.
‘I ended up being rushed to hospital as I couldn’t breath and since had to carry an epi pen.’
In 2011 she heard about the PIP scandal and realised she too was a victim.
She said: ‘Thankfully at the time I had enough money to go to Bupa and get them removed, they both had ruptured and the toxic bagels were leaking through my body.
‘When at Bupa they convinced me to get replacements and they said it was only the PIP ones which were bad – so I had them replaced’.
She said she later had another operation to have the remaining PIP capsules removed – but said some of the silicone is still attached to her chest wall and will never be removed.
Jo, who on top of her breast implant nightmare has had to deal with her husband’s serious injury in an accident, added: ‘I am free finally if the toxic bags but all the operations to get them sorted was approx £12,000. Money now me and my family could do with.’
‘It’s shocking my health is ruined and I will never get better.’
Julia Hixon
It took Julia Hixon four years to discover there was a problem with her breast implants – which she had in 2007
It took Julia Hixon four years before she realised there was a problem with her breast implants – which she had in 2007.
After hearing about the scandal, she said: ‘I immediately went to the Spire hospital to have a scan, at that point in time they were still intact.
‘Four years later I noticed that my right breast looked a lot lower than my left breast, I booked an appointment the next morning to have a scan at the Spire hospital again.
‘The scan revealed that I had a ruptured implant, I needed to have it removed as soon as possible.
‘Three weeks later I had my implants removed and replaced at a cost of roughly £5,600.
‘Most of the silicone was removed but I discovered some lumps a few months later in my arm pit.
‘After another scan I discovered that they are silicone that had moved around my body and settled there I’ve asked about having it removed but that could cause me further problems so I have no choice but to leave it.’
Jan Spivey
Jan Spivey was given PIP implants after she had a mastectomy due to breast cancer
Jan Spivey was given PIP implants after she had a mastectomy due to breast cancer.
But she developed aching joints, pain and fatigue after having the implants.
Once they were removed it was clear implants had been leaking silicone into her body.
She told the BBC: ‘My PIP implants from 20 years ago are still impacting on my life and my health and my wellbeing, even today’
‘I think I’ve been angry every single day for the 20 years I’ve been affected by PIP.’
Andrea Hayman
Andrea Hayman was one of those who previously spoke out to highlight the dangers of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) implants.
Andrea Hayman previously spoke about her experience with PIP implants
Mrs Hayman, from near Ipswich, Suffolk, had her implants removed and replaced in 2012.
She later started a campaign group.
Speaking to the Mail in 2012, she branded the notorious PIP implants ‘ticking time bombs’.
Mrs Hayman said: ‘I just don’t understand how all this happened.
‘If I would have known that this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have had the implant.
‘It’s not worth the risk when it comes to these PIP implants. They are dangerous and women need to have them removed.
‘People are living with two ticking time bombs inside their bodies and they aren’t being supported.’
Mrs Hayman had implants fitted in December 2006 after breast-feeding her children had left her ‘deflated’.
To discover whether her implants had ruptured, Mrs Hayman was forced to pay out almost £200 for an ultrasound scan.
Sarah Higginson
Sarah Higginson said in 2019 that the visits from the bailiff’s left her suffering with anxiety and panic attacks
Sarah Higginson, from Andover in Hampshire, was awarded an payout of £3,000 in 2017 for implants she had in 2008, leaving her with £2,085.48 after legal fees.
The 39-year-old told the BBC in 2019 that the visit by bailiffs left her suffering with anxiety and panic attacks and she feared if the appeal was successful money would have to be paid back.
She said: ‘We had to wait years for the small amount of compensation we did get and that didn’t even cover the cost of the surgery and now we’re getting this treatment with people turning up with papers left, right and centre.
‘It is causing long term mental damage. It’s all of that on top of that worry about what’s inside you.’
