Breast Implants Lawsuits Filed Due to Link to Rare Cancer

Written By:
Jessie Paluch
Jessie Paluch

Attorney Jessie Paluch, founder of TruLaw, has over 25 years of experience as a personal injury and mass tort attorney, and previously worked as an international tax attorney at Deloitte. Jessie collaborates with attorneys nationwide — enabling her to share reliable, up-to-date legal information with our readers.

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy and clarity by the team of writers and legal experts at TruLaw and is as accurate as possible. This content should not be taken as legal advice from an attorney. If you would like to learn more about our owner and experienced injury lawyer, Jessie Paluch, you can do so here.

TruLaw does everything possible to make sure the information in this article is up to date and accurate. If you need specific legal advice about your case, contact us by using the chat on the bottom of this page. This article should not be taken as advice from an attorney.

Breast Implants Lawsuits Filed Due to Link to Rare Cancer

A rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma can develop after a person receives breast implants.

Lawsuits are moving forward.

Breast Implants Lawsuits Filed Due to Link to Rare Cancer

Breast Implant Lawsuits are currently being filed on behalf of women who believe their rare cancer diagnosis could be related to their breast implants.

On March 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement that a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma can develop after a person receives breast implants, based on more than 350 reports of this type of cancer and its connection to breast implants.

Table of Contents

Lawsuit Updates

  • January 2017 Updates:

    FDA receives 359 medical device reports lining implants with BIA-ALCL, a rare form of lymphoma.

  • January 2016 Updates:

    Breast Implant Lawsuits filed on behalf of women who believe their injuries are linked to leaking silicone breast implants.

  • January 2011 Updates:

    FDA links breast implants to rare form of lymphoma.

  • January 2008 Updates:

    Johnson & Johnson purchases Mentor for $1.1 billion after it is the first device maker to win approval to reintroduce silicone breast implants.

  • January 1999 Updates:

    Dow Corning Corp, once the largest maker of implants, seeks bankruptcy after a $4 billion settlement to women for implants.

  • January 1995 Updates:

    Dow agrees to pay $3.2 billion in settlement to injured women and emerges from bankruptcy.

  • January 1992 Updates:

    Regulators ban the use of silicone-based breast implants because of risk of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma

In 2011, the FDA identified a link between breast implants and the development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of non-Holdgkin’s lymphoma.

A 2016 paper published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal suggests that chronic inflammation could play a role.

Some studies have found markers of chronic inflammation contained in the scar tissue around breast implants, which may suggest that an immune response to the implants could trigger the cancer.

According to the FDA, women with breast implants have an increased risk of developing ALCL compared to those who do not have breast implants.

Researchers are still working to discover how breast implants may be linked to ALCL.

Risk of Lymphoma Higher in Textured Implants

The majority of women who have a confirmed diagnosis of BIA-ALCL had textured breast implants.

Of the 231 reports of ALCL received by the FDA, 203 related to textured implants, while only 28 involved smooth implants.

Although it is not clear why the risk of cancer is higher among those with textured breast implants, the body appears to react differently to the textured ones.

The FDA continues to evaluate information about why women with textured implants are at a higher risk for this diagnosis.

According to the FDA, those who developed ALCL ranged in age from 25 to 91, and the average time between the implant surgery and the cancer diagnosis was seven years, although, in at least one case, the time period was 40 years.

What Should I do If I Have Breast Implants?

The agency advised that those who are considering breast implants should speak with their physicians concerning the risks and benefits of textured implants versus smooth implants.

Furthermore, it is important that all women with breast implants comply with the recommended follow-up care given to them by their doctors.

Breast Implant Lawsuits

Breast implant lawyers are currently speaking to women who developed ALCL and who believe their breast implants may be the cause.

We expect breast implant cancer lawsuits to be filed shortly and will continue to update the public as these cases develop.

Two California women suffering from pain, nausea, skin rashes and extreme fatigue that they believe are tied to leaking implants filed lawsuits against Mentor Worldwide, a Johnson & Johnson unit.

The first breast implant lawsuit was filed in San Francisco in September 2016 and a second breast implant lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles in February 2017.

Breast Implant lawyers believe the problems with Mentor’s silicone implants may be pervasive and thousands of women may be harmed.

Women diagnosed with ALCL, a rare form of cancer, may want to read Breast Implants Lawsuit Filed Due to Link to Rare Cancer to consider whether they need to seek a lawsuit to compensate their injuries.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How Do I Pick a Breast Implant Lawyer?

    Sometimes you need a lawyer near you and sometimes its best to hire a lawyer based on the lawyer’s resources and experiences.

    The right lawyer for mass-tort litigations may not be your local lawyer.

    Mass tort cases filed all over the country are often consolidated into a single courtroom in order to move the many lawsuits through the courts in the most effective and efficient way.

    A lawyer experienced with the multidistrict litigation process with the ability to represent clients in all 50 states, is likely to be a good fit for mass tort litigation.

    TruLaw is not afraid to take on the largest drug and medical device companies in the world.

    We work with trusted legal affiliates to make sure that TruLaw clients have the resources and experiences needed to hold big business accountable when they put profits over people.

  • How Can a Breast Implant Lawsuit Help?

    Your Breast Implant lawsuit is designed to help you financially recover from injuries that were caused by someone else.

    We hope putting your trust in TruLaw will take away your concern of protecting your legal rights, but it is most important to us that you spend your time recovering physically.

    Your lawsuit should assist in covering your medical bills, the amount of income and benefits that you lost as a result of your injury and, if your injuries are permanent, we will look to recover for your permanent disfigurement.

    In addition, it is always our hope that your lawsuit will help us to remove dangerous drugs, toxins and devices from the market.

    We are not only lawyers, but also safety advocates that believe in getting information out to the public so no more people are injured.

    We hope you will join us in the role as a safety advocate.

  • Is there a Breast Implant Action?

    We often hear injured people refer to their personal injury case as a “class action” because their case was grouped together in a lawsuit with other injured people.

    This is most often NOT the case.

    Often, individual cases are grouped together so the attorneys and judge can address common procedural issues initially, saving time for the injured parties and the court, but this is very generally referred to as a “mass tort.”

    A Mass tort refers to civil actions involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants in state or federal court.

    Class actions are mass torts that are generally used on financial losses and multidistrict litigations (MDL) are generally used on personal injury claims, often in product liability cases.

    MDL is a procedural tool used when plaintiffs have incurred injuries from products manufactured by the same defendant(s).

    Even when plaintiffs incur injuries from the same defendant(s), the amount of damages they may recover for those injuries are often substantially different from other plaintiffs included in the same lawsuit.

    It is important to understand that mass tort cases are an effective tool to getting the attention of the large drug and device companies.

    MDLs assist lawyers in determining exactly what the drug and device companies knew about the risks their products caused and whether or not they should have warned consumers.

    Too often, consumers believe that they can file a single lawsuit and get the attention of big drug companies.

    This is very hard to do.

    Technically, MDLs do not happen until a judicial panel transfers individual cases to a single court.

    Depending on when your lawsuit is filed, you may find yourself automatically transferred to the MDL court or you may wait to learn when and if the JPML believes an MDL is the proper venue for the mass tort.

    But, rest assured, even if your case is included in an MDL, TruLaw lawyers will treat your injuries, your medical history and your financial needs separately.

    We are aware that not all cases are the same.

  • Has There Been a Breast Implant Lawsuit Settlement?

    We understand the frustration in waiting to hear about settlements in product liability lawsuits.

    Unfortunately, in drug and device cases, we have no choice but to sue some of the most profitable companies in the world.

    Big Pharma has deep pockets and lawsuits are a cost of doing business for them.

    They are not inclined to settle until it makes business sense to them.

    TruLaw lawyers building our cases with an eye on winning in court as well as settlement, when we believe that is the best result for our clients.

    We will never settle without advising you of your options, and we will keep you posted on our progress, to the extent we are legally able.

  • Is there currently a Breast Implant Lawsuit?

    A corporation, by definition is profit seeking.

    There is no requirement that a corporation act morally.

    Unfortunately, too often we see dangerous drugs, devices and products remain on the market when corporations prioritize profit over people.

    If these same corporations warn consumers of these risks, there is no case.

    We only pursue lawsuits on behalf of individuals who were not warned of the risk associated with the dangerous drug, device or product on the market.

    TruLaw is pursuing Breast Implant Lawsuits because we believe consumers were not properly warned of the risks of injury.

  • Have you seen a Breast Implant Lawsuit Commercial?

    Did a recent Breast Implant Lawsuit commercial grab your attention?

    Did you find our site because you were wondering if you or your loved one qualifies for the faulty breast implant lawsuits?

    We built the Instant Case Evaluator ℠ as a no cost, no obligation place for you to find answers about your legal rights.

    If you found us today, you are looking for instant answers to whether you should file a lawsuit and we want to help you.

    We believe that in order for you to make important decisions about your health and your legal rights, you need to start with information.

    We provide you this valuable information so you are prepared to talk to a lawyer.

Written By:
Jessie Paluch
Jessie Paluch

Experienced Attorney & Legal SaaS CEO

With over 25 years of legal experience, Jessie is an Illinois lawyer, a CPA, and a mother of three.  She spent the first decade of her career working as an international tax attorney at Deloitte.

In 2009, Jessie co-founded her own law firm with her husband – which has scaled to over 30 employees since its conception.

In 2016, Jessie founded TruLaw, which allows her to collaborate with attorneys and legal experts across the United States on a daily basis. This hypervaluable network of experts is what enables her to share reliable legal information with her readers!

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