The German certifier of defective breast implants PIP, TÜV, will have to compensate 605 women for a total amount of more than 10 million euros, a civil chamber of the Nanterre judicial court ruled on Thursday. Seized by 1319 women, mainly British, in 2018, the Second Civil Chamber "condemns the German company TÜV Rheinland (...) to compensate 605 of them for the damages they have suffered," the court's presidency said in a statement.
In May, the Court of Cassation upheld TÜV's liability, paving the way for compensation for some of the victims. In particular, the Nanterre court held that "the inconsistency, from 2002, between the quantity of gel ordered (...) and the number of prostheses manufactured had been a clear anomaly in the manufacturing process," which TÜV should have noted.
TÜV should appeal
"We are said to be responsible from 2002 and that's not at all what the Court of Cassation said" in 2023, protests TÜV lawyer Christelle Coslin. She plans to advise her clients to appeal the Nanterre court's decision, she told AFP. In total, nearly one million defective breast implants were sold between 2001 and 2010 by PIP, in defiance of all health standards, and the number of women victims worldwide is estimated at 400,000.
Instead of an authorized gel, PIP used an industrial silicone normally used in the composition of electronic equipment. The proceedings continue and target the certifier, who had never found a breach, the proceedings against the Var manufacturer having ended with the death of its founder Jean-Claude Mas in 2019.