Attorneys

[Guest guest]

Here's an interesting thought! I wonder if Dow has used some of their litigation funds that they set aside to pay off attorneys? See this verrrry thought provoking article below. Hmmmm, it IS very hard to find ANY lawyer willing to take on breast implant cases....

http://www.siliconesurvivors.net/newsletters/nov.01.news.html

Preventing litigation in breast augmentation Clin Plast Surg 2001 Jul;28(3):607-15 (ISSN: 0094-1298)Gorney M The Doctors' Company, Napa, California, USA.: To obtain patient satisfaction and thus avoid exposure to liability claims in breast augmentation, the plastic surgeon must take pains to exert not only his or her surgical competence but also his or her medicolegal awareness. The recent breast implant crisis should have taught everyone a lesson. The surgeon should remember that the American legal system has more to do with showmanship than with justice, fairness, science, or truth.It is unlikely that anyone beginning a 30- to 40-year career in aesthetic surgery will finish it without an encounter with the US legal system. Surgeons should supplement their CME with "DME" (defensive medicine expertise). Only by cultivating the absolutely crucial elements of patient rapport will surgeons be able to stay one step ahead of the plaintiff's attorney. (No comment!)The Wall Street Journal, 5/16/01: Milo Gevelin: Some companies pay lawyers not to sue again: Ethics codes say agreements must be disclosed to clients, but not all lawyers do so.Here's a way for businesses to rein in costly lawsuits: pay plaintiffs' lawyers not to sue. That may seem far-fetched. But courts and bar disciplinary groups have been cracking down on deals in which companies privately pay lawyers large sums to settle their clients' cases - if the lawyers promise not to sue again. Sound unethical? Usually it is. Any agreement by lawyers to limit future representation of possible clients effectively constrains the public's access to the courts. That's why state legal-ethics codes prohibit offering or accepting "practice restriction agreements" as part of any settlement.But these agreements have become increasingly common, say lawyers and ethics experts, particularly in cases in which lawyers amass a large number of claims involving big potential damage awards against a single company. A frequent condition of settling, says New York plaintiffs lawyer Rheingold, is that the plaintiffs lawyers agree not to bring similar claims on the behalf of other plaintiffs in the future.For defendant companies, the alternative is to face future lawsuits on behalf of new plaintiffs financed by lawyers' fees from prior settlements, says Geoffrey Hazard, a legal-ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "There is a strong incentive to get that lawyer out of the picture." he says.One way defendants can ethically do that, says Mr. Hazard, is by signing plaintiffs' lawyers up as "consultants," thereby creating a conflict of interest that prohibits them from suing the company again. "It's a contrivance," says Mr. Hazard, "but it's significantly within the rules." The only qualification is that the plaintiff's lawyer must disclose the consulting arrangement to the current client beforehand. "There are some lawyers who don't do that," Mr. Hazard adds.In the biggest case to come to light, DuPont Co. paid a now-defunct Miami plaintiffs' firm a $6.4 million side payment five years ago to settle a batch of crop-damage suits brought by 48 commercial growers who used its Benlate fungicide. Lawyers for both sides reached the side deal during settlement negotiations after a state judge in Miami barred DuPont's defense arguments as punishment for withholding evidence, leaving the company facing a potentially huge damage award.As part of the deal with DuPont, the two lead plaintiffs lawyers returned all confidential company documents, agreed to seal the court file - including the judge's order sanctioning DuPont for misconduct - and, as newly hired DuPont consultants, effectively barred themselves from any involvement in future Benlate cases. They got the $6.4 million fee, on top of their contingency fee of roughly 30% of the $59 million settlement they negotiated for their clients.For DuPont, the deal eliminated the threat of future litigation brought by a plaintiffs firm specializing in Benlate. The agreement surfaced in state court in Gainsville last July, after the firm's clients became suspicious and sued both DuPont and the lawyers for fraud. The growers contend they were kept in the dark about their lawyers' stake in the settlement and forced to either accept the settlement or find other counsel. The FloridaBar Association is investigating.

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!Hope everyone is feeling better! I am still sooooooooo fatigued, etc....but I guess it is all part of this. I am curious to know if anyone has tried contacting the attorneys that I had listed? I am just wondering if they are considering a class action lawsuit? Please feel free to email me personally or on here.

Thanks and Hugs,

DianeJOSEPH PALANCA <juliejp61@...> wrote:

beth, keep me updated too! Let me know what she says. I am praying for you. Love julie

Re: Patty: healing

Hi Beth!How long has it been since explant for you? If I remember right, it's been quite a few months, but I am betting you need to keep being patient and things will just get better and better. I had the tingling and numbness off and on, with one really scary event about 2 years post explant (I think I've mentioned several times the night I woke up and my arm felt like a dead weight on the bed--I couldn't feel it or move it at all!) So, as frightening and frustrating as it is, keep on doing your detoxing and I am pretty sure that in time you will notice that stuff just going away. After that scary night when my arm felt totally dead, I don't think I had any more really bad tingling at all. I can't tell you exactly when I was totally free of it, but like I said, one day I just realized I hadn't felt any numbness or twitching or anything for a very long time.Good to

hear from you! And please do let me know how it goes with Dr. Kolb....I heard she had pneumonia???Patty> Patty,> > Thanks so much for sharing that. It is very frustrating not to > experience immediate and total recovery! As you know, I still have > the awful tingling in my face and the twitches. Everything else > seems to have abated. The tingling was my worst symptom and seems > to be the most stubborn. It doesn't help when I read the report > from Blais because it is so dire about my recovery. I have a follow > up with Dr Kolb tomorrow and I'll let you know how that goes.> > hugs,>

Beth

[Guest guest]

Hi Cheryl,

Yes, I'll post the attorneys names and numbers. There are quite a few of them so give me a few days.

I had my implants for 9 1/2 years. Dr. Blais found problems with them so I know for sure that I'm sick because of them. My explant was exactly 2 months ago tomorrow! So many of my symptoms have gone away but the fatigue is overwhelming. I want to go back to work so bad but can't being so tired and weak. The doctor that did my explant is located in the Philadelphia suburbs (Bala Cynwyd). I was unable to go to any on the list because I have been WAY TOO sick to travel. I just don't know how these women can get on a plane and travel, have surgery and come home a week later. I am so sick that I couldn't even walk through the airport terminal without having a wheelchair. This is just a tragedy that so many women are experiencing and should most definetely be compensated for!

I'll post the names in a few days.

Beth S.Cheryl <sunbum256@...> wrote:

Beth, I was wondering if you could post the names/numbers of the attorneys recommended? Sorry to hear about your fatigue...know how bad that feels. That seems to be bothering me the most lately. How long did you have your implants? Who did your surgery? Thanks for the help and hope you're feeling better soon!Cheryl