German firm liable over faulty breast implants - The Local
The court in the southern city of Toulon ruled that TUV Rheinland had "neglected its duties of checking and vigilance" after having certified that implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) conformed to European safety rules – even though they were subsequently found to have been made of substandard, industrial-grade silicone gel.
TUV Rheinland had certified that implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), but the gel caused abnormally high implant rupture rates, sparking a global scare in 2011.
Six distributors of the faulty implants from Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy, Syria, Mexico and Romania are suing TUV for €28 million ($38 million), as are more than 1,600 women who were fitted with the implants – most of them from South America but also from France and Britain.
The victims are asking for €16,000 euros each, taking the total claims against TUV to €53 million euros.
