Implants women may sue over fault

The cut-price implants, which are at the centre of a worldwide scare over the use of non-medical grade silicone, are thought to have been given to around 4,000 women in Scotland and 40,000 across the UK.

Dean Dunham has advised the women that the French manufacturers, the company that imported them into the UK and the health centre where the procedure was carried out could all be potentially liable for damages.

“The first reason to sue is for the fact it is a defective product,” he said.

“The second is if they do turn out to cause them harm, and the third is the potential psychological damage that could have been caused by the worry and stress about it.”

He said it was difficult to put a figure on how much someone could sue for, but a class action, where a group of people bring a claim together, would be likely to be the most effective way of taking action.

UK government guidance issued on Friday claimed that the implants do not pose an immediate risk, but it said the NHS would bear the cost of removing implants from women who had them as part of breast reconstruction surgery – thought to be around 5 per cent of the total.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who said there were no known cases of PIP implants being used by the NHS in Scotland, called on private health care providers to offer the same treatment to women who had concerns.