CUOMO SIGNS BILL PERMITTING IMPLANT CLAIMS.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: DENENE MILLNER - Associated Press

Women barred by law from suing manufacturers over faulty silicone gel breast implants will have a one-year opportunity to file their claims, under a measure signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo.

The new law allows thousands of New York women who received the implants in the 1970s and 1980s -- years before the public was made aware of the possible health hazards of silicone -- to get around New York's statute of limitations.

The measure also allows the revival of some expired claims against the Dalkon Shield, a birth control product linked to pelvic infections and other ailments in thousands of women.

Peter Danziger, a lawyer for the New York State Breast Implant Litigation Group, said he expects thousands of New Yorkers who suffered physical injuries from silicone injections and implants to take advantage of the "one-year window of opportunity."< The use of silicone by plastic surgeons skyrocketed in the 1970s, mostly for breast implants. Between 1 million and 2 million women nationwide have received breast implants, about 80 percent for cosmetic reasons.

However, silicone was not rigorously tested until the late 1980s, and federal warnings of its danger were not given until 1991. Massive lawsuits followed, some against manufacturers, others against doctors.

Under the old New York law, silicone victims had five years to discover the cause of their injuries, and a year after that discovery to file a claim. But the statute applied only to injuries discovered after July 1986, taking away the opportunity of thousands of New York women who received the implants in the 1970s and early 1980s to sue manufacturers.

The bill signed into law Tuesday allows all victims of silicone implants one year to file lawsuits against the manufacturers. It does not apply to malpractice lawsuits.

The revival statute also allows victims of the Dalkon shield to challenge awards from a $2.3 billion trust fund established by the manufacturer in 1989 to compensate 197,000 claimants. Trust officials have been using New York's statute of limitations to deny higher awards to those waiting for compensation.

Some 44,000 claimants -- many of them the most seriously injured -- are waiting to be compensated with the $1.95 billion remaining in the fund.

The new law will not allow new claims against A.H. Robins Co., a manufacturer that went bankrupt after a flurry of Dalkon shield lawsuits.

Sen. Michael Tully, a Long Island Republican, said the law was a victory for women who suffered from both silicone implants and the Dalkon shield.

"They've been like forgotten people and this is something that is equitable and most deserved," Tully said Tuesday.