The legal dispute has been going through the courts for years – with contradictory results. The commercial court in Toulon has now ordered TÜV Rheinland to pay millions in damages.
Toulon – In the long-standing legal dispute over inferior breast implants, the commercial court in Toulon, France, has ordered TÜV Rheinland to pay millions in damages.
According to the judgment published on Friday, around 1,600 plaintiff women should receive provisional compensation of 5,150 euros each, a total of around 8.2 million euros.
An expert is to investigate the matter further within two years. The TÜV announced an appeal against the decision in the first instance.
The legal dispute has been going through the courts in France for years – with contradictory results.
Infinite Saga
The scandal is a never-ending saga and was uncovered in 2010. The now insolvent French manufacturer Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) had been using cheap industrial silicone for its implants for years. According to estimates, the implants, which are prone to tearing, could have been used in hundreds of thousands of women worldwide – including women from Germany. The victims reported, for example, silicone pads from which the gel had leaked.
As an independent testing service provider, TÜV Rheinland had certified PIP’s quality assurance process – i.e. awarded the seal of quality. The plaintiffs therefore accuse him of sloppiness. They argue that the botch could have been uncovered with surprise controls. The company, on the other hand, sees itself as a victim of PIP’s deception and emphasizes that it has not violated any obligations.
After the recent judgment in Toulon, the lawyer representing the TÜV, Christelle Coslin, stated that the TÜV had no liability in the matter. The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 2017 and the Courts of Appeal of Versailles and Poitiers from 2021 conflict with the court decision. “Moreover, at no time during the course of its work for PIP did TÜV Rheinland have any indications that PIP’s breast implants might not have been compliant.” According to the regulations, TÜV Rheinland’s task was not to uncover fraud. dpa
