In July 2019, Allergan issued a worldwide recall of BIOCELL® textured breast implants and tissue expanders after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned patients about the association between the products and breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).
BIA-ALCL is a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or cancer of the immune system. In most cases, it is found in the scar tissue and fluid near the implant, but can spread throughout the body. It is not breast cancer. If not diagnosed early or treated properly, BIA-ALCL can lead to death.
According to the FDA, hundreds of thousands of women in the U.S. have the BIOCELL® implants.
A July 2019 article from the Associated Press noted that the latest figures indicate that more than 80% of the 570 confirmed cases of the lymphoma worldwide were linked to Allergan implants. Of the 33 deaths reported to be caused by the disease, 12 people had Allergan's Biocell implants. Regulators estimate that the risk of the disease is six times higher with Allergan’s implants than textured implants from other manufacturers.
Symptoms of BIA-ALCL include breast enlargement or hardening, persistent pain, lump in the breast or armpit, or a large fluid collection surrounding an implant. Allergan’s product safety alert said that these symptoms have been reported between six months and 26 years after implant placement, and on average are diagnosed seven to nine years after implant placement.
Last month, U.S. District of New Jersey Judge Brian R. Martinotti held that the majority of plaintiff’s claims are not preempted in the Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2921). This ruling paves the way for three types of claims: (1) claims from patients who still have the implant(s) in place, (2) patients who have had the implant(s) removed, and (3) patients that have been diagnosed with BIA-ALCL.
SimplyConvert is working to help firms across the country gather Allergan Biocell clients.
SimplyConvert’s proprietary Instant Case Evaluation Platform can help your team seek justice for people who had BIOCELL® textured breast implants and tissue expanders implanted and suffered personal injuries.
We partner with the most qualified lawyers in every mass tort to formulate the criteria for qualifying clients. Once we program our AI-powered chatbot with the litigation-specific criteria, it is ready to chat with website visitors and qualify potentially viable claims for the litigation.
Click the button at the end of this post to download SimplyConvert's criteria chatflow for the Allergan Breast Implant litigation.
Firms on the SimplyConvert platform can immediately begin case intake for the litigation. (If your team wishes to modify the criteria, we are happy to discuss how we can revise it to work for your practice.) As will all of our Instant Case Evaluators, no litigation-specific training is required.
From the first conversation to a signed contract, SimplyConvert's automation tools put every step of the client intake process on autopilot. If you’re not already using the SimplyConvert platform, get started today and get back to focusing on your clients.