Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 13:54:59 +1200 

-----Original Message----- 

From: USSW  

Date: Saturday, 27 June 1998 05:41 

Subject: Re: Gail's "open letter" to Judge Pointer 

Posted for information - some of you may want to use the example. 

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June 9, 1998  

Honorable Sam C. Pointer, Jr. 

Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for N.D. Ala. 

Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse 

1729 5th Ave. N. 

Birmingham, AL 35203 

I am a Current Claimant in the MDL-926. Not only has my health failed me as a result of silicone breast implants, but the legal system has failed me as well. I fired the attorney who had been supposedly representing me in the Class Action in early March, 1998 for various reasons. I requested she send me copies of all my records, which she did. In with those records, I discovered a report of a mammogram I had done April 30, 1996, indicating a bulge of my right implant, suggesting "intracapsular contained rupture of the right implant". Neither my doctor nor my attorney ever discussed this finding with me, and so March of this year was the first I learned of it. In addition, my attorney indicated to me in March of this year that if and when I had explantation surgery and it showed rupture, and if and when my claim was approved, I would be entitled to additional monies from the settlement. 

Upon requesting documents from the Claims Office (I decided to represent myself in the Class Action Suit as of March) I discovered that there was a deadline of December 16, 1996 by which all rupture claims needed to be filed. Had I known 1) that there was a probable rupture and 2) that there was such a deadline, I certainly would have had the explantation surgery in a timely fashion so as to qualify for such a claim. 

I had my silicone implants removed on April 15, 1998. The operative report indicates that both implants were "massively ruptured", and my surgeon has given me a letter indicating that, in his professional opinion, more likely than not, rupture(s) existed at the time of the mammogram in l996. I sent a Letter of Appeal to Claims Administrator Ann Cochran to this effect, and my appeal was denied, based upon the 12/16/96 deadline. 

I have since tried in vain to find legal representation against my former attorney in an attempt to collect the $30,000 her "errors" will cost me (I am a Level B ACTD Claimant), being told repeatedly that "no attorney will take a $30,000 case on contingency knowing he will get one third, and that it may cost $25,000 to take it to trial". Therefore, I am being advised to "lick my wounds and walk away". I cannot. 

As a result of my debilitating illnesses, I was forced to give up a business that I loved, filed bankruptcy, and now am struggling to survive, dragging myself through each day and barely making ends meet. Two professionals neglected to inform me of the findings of a mammogram, and my former attorney neglected to inform me of a deadline that would have entitled me to $30,000 (almost enough to cover at least ten of the twenty years of medical expenses I incurred as a result of the damages of Silicone Toxicity). I am writing this letter to you as testimonial. I wish to go on record with my story, as this travesty of justice should not go unnoticed. 

Sadly, I know I am not alone in feeling betrayed by the system. My father was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association for 50 years, and, were he alive today, I believe he would be as shocked and appalled as am I that no justice, apparently, will be served me. This, on top of 24 years of suffering health, makes it difficult to believe anyone actually protects the interest of the "little guys" who don't have the fortunes to spend defending their causes. 

Please let this letter serve as my final attempt to voice my frustration, thereby affording me an iota of peace in a world of atrocities. Your response would be most appreciated.  

Sincerely, 

Gail