International Link

German safety body ordered to pay faulty breast implant plaintiffs

TUV Rheinland, which in 2010 certified faulty breast implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), has been ordered by a French court to pay 3,000 euros to each of the 20,000 women who received the potentially harmfull products.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

A French court has ordered a German safety body to pay 60 million euros in compensation to 20,000 women who received faulty breast implants, reports BBC News.

TUV was found liable over a global scandal affecting thousands of women.

In 2010 it emerged that French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) had made implants with substandard, industrial-grade silicone. TUV Rheinland was among the bodies that had certified them.

PIP exported 80% of its implants before the firm was liquidated in the scandal.

The commercial court in Toulon, southern France, said TUV Rheinland must pay 3,000 euros to each of the 20,000 plaintiffs.

PIP's silicone gel can cause medical problems if the implants leak or erupt.

Read more of this report from BBC News.