Court won't reconsider Dow implant case

The court on Friday rejected Dow Chemical's arguments that the Dec. 31 ruling by the five-member court should be heard by the expanded, seven-member court put in place last month.

Dow Chemical's "arguments to the contrary are without merit," the court said in its unanimous ruling.

The court also rejected Dow Chemical's claim that it overlooked or misunderstood the law or facts. In its request for a rehearing, Dow Chemical disputed it had a duty to ensure the safety of implants made by its subsidiary, Dow Corning.

"This should be the end of the case," said Reno lawyer Geoffrey White, who represents Charlotte Mahlum.

In 1995, a district court jury in Reno awarded Mahlum and her husband $10 million in punitive damages and $4.2 million in compensatory damages. In late December, the Supreme Court denied the $10 million, but upheld the $4.2 million award.

Dow Chemical spokesman John Musser was out of town this weekend and unable to return phone calls. He was the only Dow Chemical representative authorized to discuss the case with the media, a colleague said.

Last month, Musser said courts in California, New York and Michigan examined essentially the same evidence and determined there's no reason to hold Dow Chemical liable for Dow Corning's implants.

Dow Chemical owns 50 percent of Dow Corning, once the biggest maker of silicone gel breast implants.

Mahlum, 49, who formerly lived in Elko, said she was surprised but pleased by the swiftness of the court's decision.

"I know Dow Chemical would like to drag this out until the day I die," she said. "But I'm a fighter; I may not be healthy, but I'm a fighter."

After a mastectomy in the late 1980s, she elected to have silicone implants made by Dow Corning.

She claims the implants, which she later had removed, caused brain lesions, nerve damage, blotchy skin, aching, memory problems and seizures.

"I woke up sick this morning," she said Friday. "I had such a headache, I felt too sick to even die, but that's OK.

"I called a friend when I heard about the court decision. I told her, 'It's a huge victory for all women."'

Hers was the first implant case to go to trial exclusively against Dow Chemical. The jury found Dow Chemical helped to develop the breast implants.

Dow Chemical and Dow Corning are based in Midland, Mich.

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