"French court orders damages for victims of PIP breast implant scandal", 20 May 2021

German firm TUV Rheinland was negligent in awarding safety certificates to a French company which made faulty breast implants, a Paris court ruled, a decision advocacy groups said paved the way for thousands of women worldwide to seek damages.

More than 300,000 women received implants that were made in the 10 years up to 2010 by PIP (Poly Implant Prothese) and filled with cheap, industrial-grade silicone not cleared for human use.

... TUV Rheinland said it challenged the court's decision to hold the company even partially liable. It noted that the court rejected the claims from women who were implanted before 2006.

"The evidence in this case clearly shows that TUV Rheinland acted diligently, in compliance with acceptable regulations, and it was not its role to track down the fraud pursuant to the regulation," the firm said in a statement.

Advocacy group PIP Implant World Victims Association (PIPA) said the ruling would have implications for tens of thousands more women from dozens of countries around the world who received PIP implants.

... Victims had suffered auto-immune disease, cancer scares, and prolonged anxiety, while the incidence rate of autism among children who were breastfed by mothers with PIP implants was far higher than normal rates, PIPA said.