The founder of the French breast implant company who provided low-grade silicon implants has been sentenced to four years in prison by a Marseille criminal court. He was found guilty of hiding the true nature of the sub-standard silicone used in implants sold to 300,000 women around the world.
Jean-Claude Mas, 74, is founder and long-time chief executive of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) – the firm which caused a huge scandal when their implants were found to have an abnormally high rupture rate.
Once the third-largest global supplier of breast implants, the company was shut in 2010 and its implants ordered off the market after inspectors pursuing a tip-off discovered vats of industrial-grade silicone.
Mas was also ordered to pay a 75,000-euro ($103,000) fine and four other executives, including the chief financial officer, were also sentenced to between one and a half and three years in prison.
Stephen Handisides, from MyFaceMyBody, said: “Mas has caused very real worry and suffering to thousands of women. This verdict is a great moment for every woman and family affected because it finally acknowledges that they are victims of a crime.”
The PIP trial broke judicial records in France with 7,113 civil plaintiffs from 71 countries, including hundreds from Britain. Tuesday’s judgement, including a transcript of the trial, ran to 7,945 pages.
Crucially now, the court also ruled that the German company which had certified the authenticity of the sub-standard implants, shared responsibility with now-defunct PIP. Over 1,600 women, including about 100 from Britain, were awarded €3,000 in interim damages. This ruling now paves the way for a compensation pay-out of up to € 6bn to 400,000 women around the world.
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