A breast prosthesis.

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MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

  • In 2010, a check pointed out the dangerousness of the breast prostheses produced by the PIP company.

  • Four proceedings are still pending before different French courts.

  • Lawyer for thousands of victims, Me Olivier Aumaître wishes to obtain compensation.

In 2020, the PIP prosthesis scandal blew out its ten candles.

“Celebrating ten years of a case is not a happy birthday.

And what is scandalous is that the victims are subjected to all these legal uncertainties, ”asserts Me Olivier Aumaître, lawyer for dozens of victims in the various TÜV-stamped files.

For those involved in this never-ending affair, each new procedure has a little name.

There were already TÜV 1, TÜV 2 and TÜV 3. Last Thursday, the Toulon commercial court inaugurated TÜV 4. Each case represents several thousand victims, more and more going to court to seek redress.

And since it is estimated that around 400,000 women are carriers of a PIP prosthesis in the world, it is easy to imagine that the series of TÜV trials is far from over.

Why such complexity?

Those implicated in this vast health scandal have, however, been well identified since 2010. Jean-Claude Mas, the former leader of the Var company PIP, was even sentenced to four years in prison.

Guilty of knowingly marketing the defective prostheses, he died in 2019 before serving his sentence.

The German company TÜV, which certified the fraudulent prostheses, has also been ordered several times to pay provisions to the victims.

But after every conviction, TÜV has a habit of appealing.

In one of the sections, the PIP prostheses even landed before the Court of Cassation, which then referred the case to appeal… This is why several procedures are still running.

A "judicial yo-yo"

Me Olivier Aumaître, Parisian lawyer, defends nearly 15,000 victims in the various cases stamped TÜV.

Last Thursday, the man - again - found himself before the Toulon commercial court, with the files of 1,500 new victims under his arm.

Over the years, he has learned the file by heart.

And by dint of being tossed from court to court, he readily speaks of a "judicial yo-yo".

In the case presented last Thursday in Toulon, TÜV 4 therefore, the judgment will be rendered in June 2021. In addition, Olivier Aumaître indicates that a TÜV 5 case is already in preparation and will bring together at least 5,000 women.

The lawyer explains: “it is difficult to convince the victims to take legal action, because the procedure discourages them.

This is why there are several waves.

In addition, some victims do not immediately realize the danger of prostheses.

Sometimes it's when they develop complications that they decide to take legal action.

"

Search the victims as far as Colombia

During the hearing in Toulon, the victims' lawyer is the only one to defend the case.

And for good reason: the 1,500 victims are far from the Var, because for the most part Venezuelans and Colombians.

To bring them together, Olivier Aumaître explains having undertaken a rather particular canvassing.

“I visited Colombia last year.

I attended meetings in several cities to inform women that there were trials in France.

"

As with each TÜV file, the objective is first to obtain provisions of 3,000 euros so that each woman can finance the removal of her prostheses.

Once the fight will be definitively won on this point, the victims will be able to claim greater compensation.

But first, each case must be examined, one by one.

“Along with the procedures, we send the files of each victim to the experts in charge of the file,” Olivier Aumaître unfolds.

They review each case, at a rate of about 100 or 200 cases per month.

This is unheard of !

"

For the moment, a final expertise has been drawn up in 23 cases only… For these Peruvian, Spanish and Irish victims, compensation of up to 70,000 euros is offered.

Above all, experts felt that because of the danger of prostheses, every victim is exposed to "permanent anxiety damage".

According to Olivier Aumaître, “if the damage is endless, it means that new victims will have the right to take legal action at any time of their life.

In other words, the PIP dossier promises to blow out new candles.

Health

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PIP prostheses: The Court of Cassation orders a new trial for the TÜV certifier

  • Breast cancer

  • Boobs

  • Provence

  • Breast prostheses

  • Marseilles

  • Toulon

  • Pip

  • Justice