The first jury ever to hear a class-action lawsuit filed over
silicone breast implants found yesterday that Dow Chemical Co. did
not properly test the material for safety in humans and covered up
problems with the devices.
After 17 hours of deliberations over two days, the jurors
answered yes to all seven questions posed in a case involving 1,800
Louisiana women claiming a range of ailments of the immune system
resulting in pain and fatigue.
The decision marks the end of the first phase of a four-phase
trial in state court. In the second phase, which starts next month,
jurors will hear testimony about whether the implants caused the
health problems suffered by a subset of eight ...