IMPLANT LAWSUITS WOULD BE EASIER IF BILL PASSES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 22, 1992                   TAG: 9202220257
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
IMPLANT LAWSUITS WOULD BE EASIER IF BILL PASSES
If the Senate does not pass a bill making it easier to sue breast-implant manufacturers, many Virginians injured by the silicone devices will be barred from recovering damages, the bill's sponsor said Friday.
Del. Gladys Keating, D-Fairfax, told a Capitol news conference that the measure would change the way the statute of limitations applies to women who develop illnesses because of breast implants.
Current law requires any lawsuit to be brought within two years of the implant's failure, regardless of when symptoms occur. Keating's bill would give the victim two years from when she notices symptoms and links them to the implant.
"Women who are learning only now that breast implants are the cause of their health problems are also learning that it's too late to sue the manufacturer. And that's not fair," Keating said.
Her bill, which the House of Delegates passed 97-0, is tied up in a Senate Courts of Justice subcommittee. The subcommittee has recommended that the measure be studied for a year. The full committee will hear the proposal Wednesday.
Jacqueline Clark of Arlington, who had her breast implants removed in 1989 after 13 years, said she was barely able to get a lawsuit filed before the statute of limitations expired. She said if Keating's bill does not pass, many other women will not be as fortunate.
Clark said it often takes years for symptoms to show up, and more years pass before the problems are linked to a leaking silicone implant.
"Some women have been to as many as 30 doctors" in an effort to have their illnesses diagnosed, Clark said. "Not many doctors are educated on this."
Clark, who has formed a support group for victims, said the women experience "an overwhelming amount of frustration."
She said she had breast-implant surgery in 1976 for cosmetic reasons, and several years later she developed "devastating symptoms," including breathing difficulties, inability to gain weight and rashes. She was misdiagnosed as having AIDS, lupus and other diseases, and her mental health was questioned.
Jerry Phillips, a Fairfax County lawyer representing breast-implant victims, said Clark "went through a period of pure hell."
Clark has filed a $3 million lawsuit against Baxter Pharmaceutical. A trial is scheduled in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on April 13, Phillips said.
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by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB