Claimants' Advisory Committee

Sybil Niden Goldrich
Ernest Hornsby, Esq.
Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, No. 1, January 6, 2006

This is the 21st e-newsletter (Vol. 3, No. 1) from the Claimants’ Advisory Committee (CAC) in the Dow Corning bankruptcy Settlement Plan. You were sent a copy of the newsletter because our records show that you requested to be on the mailing list. If you wish to unsubscribe or to reply to this newsletter, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org. Please do not hit “Reply” to this email address. Please use the email address: info@tortcomm.org.

NOTE: The CAC is happy to answer questions you may have, but we urge you to first contact the Claims Assistance Program at their toll free number (866-874-6099) or by email at: info@sfdct.com. We apologize for any delay on our part in returning phone calls and answering inquiries. The call and correspondence volume remains high, and we are working to respond to each inquiry.

This is the first newsletter we have issued since October 6, 2005. We apologize for the delay. As you can read herein, we have been quite busy trying to resolve a number of pending issues. We will continue to use our best efforts to issue a newsletter at least once monthly.

Requests for copies of claim forms or inquiries about the status of a claim should be directed to the Settlement Facility at info@sfdct.com or you can call them at 866-874-6099.

1. Court Enters an Order Extending the Cure Deadline to April 17, 2006. On December 23, 2005, the Court entered an Agreed Order extending the cure deadline for all claimants whose deadline to cure deficiencies in their claims has either already expired or will expire on or before April 16, 2006 to April 17, 2006. A copy of the Order will be posted on the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) under “Court Orders” next week. The Settlement Facility is also providing individual notice of the extended cure deadline to claimants affected by the extension.

The Claims Administrator is continuing to work on the release of information to assist claimants with submission of claims and correction of deficiencies. The CAC is also working to finalize a booklet with helpful tips to submit a disease claim. We anticipate finalizing this soon.

2. New Claimant Meetings Announced. The Settlement Facility has scheduled the following claimant meetings:

Date	Location	Time
January 27, 2006	CMarriott Miami Airport Hotel 1201 Northwest 42nd Avenue Miami, Florida	9 a.m. to 12 noon
February 23, 2006	Hilton Hawaiian Village 2005 Kalia Road, Coral 5 Room Honolulu, Hawaii	9 a.m. to 12 noon

3. Alta Breast Implant Litigation Group Meeting Scheduled for February 21, 2006. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is holding its annual winter meeting in Honolulu in February 2006. In conjunction with this, the Breast Implant Litigation Group (BILG) has scheduled a meeting for attorneys representing breast implant clients. A representative of the CAC will attend and give an update on the Settlement Facility. In addition, we are pleased to report that David Austern, the Claims Administrator for the Settlement Facility, will also attend and be available to discuss the status of claims processing and payment in the Settlement Facility.

The BILG meeting will be held February 21, 2006 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu beginning at 1 p.m.. As noted above, the Claims Administrator and CAC will also make a presentation at the Claimant Information Session in Honolulu on February 23, 2006. BILG meetings are open only to attorneys and paralegals who are members of ATLA.

4. Settlement Facility to Upgrade Computer System to Better Process and Pay Claims.

The following message was recently posted on the Settlement Facility website:

The SF-DCT has been working hard to improve claims processing and payment on many levels. Proof of Manufacturer review for Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (Dow Corning breast implant claims) is now current, and Explant and Rupture claims are expected to be current or just 1-2 months wait time as of February 2006. Part of the SF-DCT’s improvement efforts includes significant improvements to the computer system used to process and pay claims. The improvements will improve the speed, accuracy and efficiency of claim review.

Most of the computer changes will be ready to install for testing sometime during the first quarter of 2006. Some of the changes are significant and affect all SF-DCT departments. Testing and completion of the new computer system will likely take approximately 4-8 weeks. During this time (approximately mid-February to mid-April), the SF-DCT will need to temporarily suspend the majority of claim review and processing, including payments. This will not affect Explant Assistance processing and payments. These claims will continue to be processed and paid within 30 days. The SF-DCT will also be available to answer questions during this time through the toll free number (866-874-6099) or by email (info@sfdct.com). We also encourage claimants to view the status of their claim on-line at “My Claim” section of the SF-DCT website (www.sfdct.com). If you need a password to access the “My Claim” section, contact us at the above phone number or email address, and we will provide you with a password.

The Court has approved an agreement by the CAC and Debtor’s Representatives to further extend cure deadlines that have already run or that will run on or before April 16, 2006 to April 17, 2006. This means that if your cure deadline has already expired or will expire prior to April 17, 2006, then you are being given additional time to fix or cure the deficiency in your claim.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

In addition, the Settlement Facility is working on a significant upgrade to its telephone system for the Claims Assistance Program (CAP) that will inform callers of the estimated wait time and will include announcements during the wait time. It will also have a messaging system for callers to leave a message instead of waiting to speak to a CAP representative. The vastly improved telephone system should be completed by the end of January 2006.

5. CAC Reaches Confidentiality Agreement with Dow Corning to Access Unredacted Medical Records in DCC's Possession. The CAC has reached an agreement with Dow Corning which has been approved by the Court that will allow the Settlement Facility and the CAC to review and obtain copies of claimants’ medical records in Dow Corning’s possession. A copy of the Confidentiality Order will be on the CAC website under Court Orders next week. Pursuant to this agreement, the CAC and Claims Administrator will meet to review the best way to locate and develop a database of names of claimants whose medical records or other internal documents that relate to claimants’ implants are in Dow Corning’s possession. The names of the claimants will be kept confidential. The CAC believes that this process will help some claimants find operative reports, implant ID documents, or other relevant medical records that may have been sent to Dow Corning by your doctor. We will keep you informed in a future newsletter or on our website about how you may find out if your medical records were located.

6. Liens Filed by MDL 926 CLaims Office Against Claimants in the Settlement Facility. The MDL 926 Claims Office filed a number of liens against claimants in the Settlement Facility alleging that the claimant should reimburse the MDL 926 Claims Office for awards made to the claimant in the Revised Settlement Program. Many liens were later withdrawn because they were mistakenly filed, but there are approximately 96 liens that remain. The CAC mailed a letter to the 96 claimants (or their attorney if they are represented) asking them to provide us with a copy of the lien or any other information that may be relevant to refute the lien. You can send this to us at:

Email:	info@tortcomm.org
Fax:	419-394-1748
Mail:	P.O. Box 665, St. Marys, OH 45885

7. Meeting Scheduled with MDL 926 and Dow Corning to Discuss Common Issues. Representatives of MDL 926 and the Dow Corning case (including the CAC) will meet on January 24, 2006 to discuss, among other things, overlapping issues such as the MDL lien situation and claimants who received a 50% reduction from the Revised Settlement Program because of an alleged Dow Corning breast implant but whose proof has been rejected by Dow Corning.

8. CAC and Dow Corning File Motion to Establish Procedures to Address Late Claims. On December 12, 2005, the CAC and Dow Corning filed a joint motion asking the Court to establish procedures to hear and rule on late claim requests including late Notice of Intents. A copy of the motion will be on the CAC website under “CAC Motions” next week. A hearing has been set for January 19, 2005 at 9 a.m. solely on the issue of whether the Court will adopt the procedures in the motion. This is not a hearing on the merits of any late claim request. We will include more information about this topic in a future newsletter.

9. Claims Payment Update. From June 1, 2004 (the Effective Date) through November 30, 2005 approximately $507,215,993 million dollars has been paid to claimants in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (Dow Corning Breast Implant claimants). The Plan of Reorganization provides that Dow Corning is obligated to pay up to $2.35 billion Net Present Value over 15 years. Pursuant to Court Order, Base Payments are authorized to be paid for approved claims; however, Premium Payments are not authorized at this time.

Listed below are additional data concerning the processing of Dow Corning Breast Implant claims through November 30, 2005:

61,333 proof of manufacturer claims submitted
58,736 of these claim reviews have been completed
49,706 or 81% have been determined to have acceptable proof of an eligible Dow Corning breast implant

Once you submit the Proof of Manufacturer form and provide documents that you have a Dow Corning Breast Implant, then the SF-DCT will review your claim for Explant, Rupture, and Expedited Release or Disease. Your claim for benefits will not be reviewed until you first submit the Proof of Manufacturer Form and supporting documents. If you previously submitted proof of your implant manufacturer in the global settlement or another settlement, you do not need to re-submit these documents. However, you need to complete the Proof of Manufacturer Form (the one with the blue edge).

CLASS 5, 6.1 AND 6.2 ONLY (DOW CORNING BREAST IMPLANT CLAIMS)

Claim Category	Number of Claims Paid through Nov. 30, 2005	Total $$ Paid in category through Nov. 30, 2005
Expedited Release	10,142	$ 19,403,432.90
Explant	19,024	$ 93,315,326.17
Explant Assistance	113	$ 553,746.79
Increased Explant	11	$ 33,000.00
Rupture	12,911	$254,808,111.97
Disease Option 1	8,298	$116,777,411.73
Disease Option 2	209	$ 22,324,963.80
Total	50,708	$507,215,993.36

CLASS 7 (SILICONE GEL MATERIAL CLAIMANTS)

Claim Category	Number of Forms Filed	Number of Claims Reviewed	Number of Claims Approved
Proof of Manufacturer	32,945	5,957	3,128

CLASS 9 (DOW CORNING COVERED OTHER PRODUCTS)

Claim Category	Number of Forms Filed	Number of Claims Reviewed	Number of Claims Approved
Proof of Manufacturer	3,608	2,765	1,044
Expedited Release	1,757	1,243	511
Rupture	247	31	7
Inflammatory Foreign Body Resp.	707	140	54
Implant Failure	1,065	224	15
TMJ Enhanced	576	58	0

10. NOI Disease Claims to be Processed. This is an update on the status of the dispute regarding whether Notice of Intent claimants are eligible to participate and receive payment in the Settlement Facility. As previously reported, Dow Corning filed a motion in early 2004 objecting to the payment of claims they deemed “unmatched” to an existing Rule 3005 co-debtor claim. As a result, virtually all Notice of Intent (or NOI) claims have been on hold for processing. Dow Corning has now agreed with the CAC that all domestic (U.S.) breast implant claimants who filed a Notice of Intent on or before August 30, 2005 and who filed a disease claim can have their disease claim processed and paid. The Settlement Facility has prioritized those NOI disease claims that are “pass-through” claims, i.e., those claims that were previously approved for disease claims by the MDL 926 Claims Office. The CAC is continuing its efforts to resolve the dispute whether NOI claimants can receive payment for Explant and Rupture, and we will report on these efforts in a future newsletter.

11. Additional Topics to be Covered in the Next CAC E-Newsletter

CHALLENGING RELEASES The CAC is continuing to work on the motion challenging the validity of the releases Dow Corning required claimants to sign to receive payment in the Removal Assistance Program.
CURING DEFICIENCIES We continue to work with the Claims Administrator to address claims that have been classified as deficient, particularly rupture claims. If your rupture claim was denied and you believe it should have been approved, please fax or email a copy of the deficiency letter and operative and pathology reports to us at: 419-394-1748 or info@tortcomm.org.
SCHEDULING ADDITIONAL CLAIMANT MEETINGS
EXPLANT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
TISSUE EXPANDERS AND DISEASE OPTION 2 TOLLING The Court has not ruled on these two pending motions.

12. Deadlines to File Claims. Please mark your calendar with the claim submission deadlines. Please note that most of these deadlines mean that your claim forms and materials must be received by the appropriate entity by the posted deadline. Please mail all forms early enough so that they are received by the deadline listed below. If your claim form is not received by the deadline listed below, you will not be permitted to file a claim later. For example, if you do not file a Rupture claim by June 1, 2006 but discover in 2008 that you have a rupture, your rupture claim will not be allowed. It will be denied.

Deadline Date	Type of Deadline
June 1, 2006	Rupture Claim submission deadline for Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2
June 1, 2006	Silicone Material Claim submission deadline – Class 7. All claims for Disease or Expedited Release must be submitted by this date. The Fund will close permanently and no new claims will be allowed after this date.
June 1, 2006	Covered Other Products submission deadline – Classes 9, 10.1 and 10.2. All claims for Expedited Release or a Medical Condition must be submitted by this date. The Fund will close permanently and no new claims will be allowed after this date.
June 1, 2007	Expedited Release submission deadline – Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2
June 2, 2014	Explant Claims submission deadline for Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2
June 3, 2019	Disease Claim submission deadline for Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2

Deficiency / Cure Deadlines

If you receive a Notification of Status letter from the Settlement Facility stating that you have a deficiency in your claim submission, please note that there are very short deadlines to cure most deficiencies. The deadlines are listed below:

Settlement Benefit	Deadline to Cure Deficiency
Proof of Manufacturer	No deadline but your claim for Explant, Rupture, Medical Condition or Disease will not be reviewed until you first have acceptable proof of an eligible implant
Explant	6 months from date of Notification of Status letter
Rupture	6 months from date of Notification of Status letter
Medical Condition (Classes 9, 10.1 and 10.2)	6 months from date of Notification of Status letter
Disease	1 year from date of Notification of Status letter

If you would like to read prior CAC e-newsletters, they are available on the CAC website by clicking on “Electronic Newsletter.” We urge you to visit the CAC website (www.tortcomm.org) on a regular basis to download or view relevant documents and read updates and new information. To contact the CAC, send an email to: info@tortcomm.org or send a letter to the new Post Office Box address for the CAC at:

Claimants’ Advisory Committee

P.O. Box 665

St. Marys, Ohio 45885

NOTICE: This document is copyrighted. You are not authorized to post it on any website without express, prior written permission of the Claimants’ Advisory Committee.