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Settlement Reached In Breast-Implant FightBy Barbara - RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

May 14th, 1999 - A former Elko waitress' four-year breast-implant fight against Dow Chemical is over and a financial settlement has been reached.

"Charlotte Mahlum and Dow Chemical have had negotiations and the judgment has been resolved," Mahlum's attorney Geoffrey White of Reno said Thursday.

A Dow Chemical spokesman confirmed the out-of-court settlement but said the terms were confidential.

The Nevada Supreme Court in January said Mahlum, 49, was entitled to $4.2 million in compensatory damages.

Reached at her home in Las Vegas, Mahlum said, "I'm extremely pleased with the resolution and I'm eager to get on with the rest of my life."

She had just returned from Yerington, she said, where she purchased a home Wednesday. "I was really thrilled about that. It's by where my daughter lives and my grandkids. I've always wanted to move back there to be closer to them."

The settlement will allow her to see medical specialists she hasn't been able to afford, she said. Mahlum contended the breast implants she received in 1985 caused her multiple health problems, including a multiple sclerosis-like syndrome, severe headaches and loss of bowel control.

She was having a bad episode right before she answered the phone, Mahlum said. "No matter what about the money, it won't change me a bit. I would give it all back again if only I had my health."

The settlement brings closure to a four-year court battle. Mahlum's 1995 case was the first in the nation to go to trial exclusively against Dow chemical. A Reno jury had awarded Mahlum and her now ex-husband $14 million -$4.2 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld the $4.2 million, but denied the $10 million. Dow Chemical asked the court to reconsider their ruling, but the court declined.

Dow Chemical could have appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but chose not to do so, said Dow spokesman Musser.

"Taking the option to settle at this point provides us with an opportunity now to be reimbursed from the Dow Corning settlement fund. If the plan is approved, Dow Corning will ultimately assume the responsibility for that settlement," he said.

Today is the deadline for women with Dow Corning breast implants to vote for or against the bankruptcy plan. White said he advised his clients to vote no. About 1,500 women in Nevada will be voting, he said. Of those, about 400 are in northern Nevada. He represents 100.

He's advising women to vote no because the plan would release Dow Chemical, which owns 50 percent of Dow Corning, from being sued. White and his brother, Reno bankruptcy lawyer White, filed an objection on behalf of 55 Nevada women against the settlement plan. Their objection should be heard at a June 28 bankruptcy confirmation hearing in Bay City, Mich.