CLAIMANTS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, No. 4, April 22, 2009

 

 

Contact the CAC at: Sybil Niden Goldrich

info@tortcomm.org Ernest Hornsby, Esq.

or (419) 394-0717 Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

 

 

This is the 58th e-newsletter (Vol. 6, No. 4) 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, click here 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.

 

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 866-874-6099. The Claimants' Advisory Committee does not have access to individual claimant files to answer these kinds of questions.

 

 

1.URGENT REMINDERS FOR FINAL CURE DEADLINES FOR CERTAIN SLE AND ACTD CLAIMANTS

 

This reminder applies only to certain claimants who previously filed a claim for either Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and/or Atypical Connective Tissue Disease (ACTD) and received a deficiency notice about that claim from the Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust (SF-DCT). These cure deadlines do not apply to you if the SF-DCT notified you that you have a longer or different cure deadline date.

 

***If you have any question about what your cure deadline is, contact the SF-DCT at 1-866-874-6099 or at info@sfdct.com. ****

 

The final cure deadline for certain deficient Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) claims is MAY 4, 2009.

 

The final cure deadline for certain deficient ACTD claims is JULY 9, 2009.

 

No further extensions will be allowed.

 

We strongly suggest that claimants and attorneys download and review a copy of the Disease Guidelines for SLE and ACTD that are posted on the CAC and SF-DCT websites and to contact a nurse reviewer at the Settlement Facility to schedule a time to go over the deficiencies in your claim and what is needed to correct them.Don't wait until the last minute to contact the SF-DCT or to send in your documents.

 

The SLE Disease Guidelines document is at:

 

http://www.tortcomm.org/downloads/SLE_Guidelines_for_website_11-03-08.pdf

 

 

The ACTD Guidelines document is at:

 

http://www.tortcomm.org/downloads/actdfinalposted_to_website_1-12-09_2.pdf

 

 

Reminder:  the deadline to file a new disease claim for an eligible disease or condition in the Plan is June 3, 2019.The cure deadline applies only to disease claims that have already been reviewed and were found to be missing one or more items needed for the claim to be approved.The cure deadline requires claimants to correct the missing items by the deadline listed in the letter sent to them by the Settlement Facility.

 

 

2.     JUNE 1, 2009 WILL BE THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE DOW CORNING PLAN OF REORGANIZATION

 

June 1, 2009 will be the 5th anniversary of the "Effective Date" of the Dow Corning Plan of Reorganization, i.e., the date that Dow Corning Settlement Plan that was approved by the bankruptcy court went into effect. At the Effective Date (June 1, 2004), all deadlines in the Dow Corning Settlement Plan to file a claim for benefits went into effect and began to run, and the Settlement Facility was authorized to issue payments for approved claims.

 

In addition to deadlines, there is an important date in Disease Option 2 to which all claimants and attorneys should pay particular attention. One of the "General Requirements" that applies to all Disease Option 2 claims states:

 

A claimant must file with the Claims Office all medical records establishing the required findings or laboratory abnormalities. Qualifying findings must have occurred within a single 24-month period within the five years immediately preceding the submission of the claim except that this period is tolled during the pendency of the bankruptcy (May 15, 1995 until the Effective Date.)

 

This means that if you intend to file a Disease Option 2 claim on or after June 1, 2009, your qualifying symptoms must have been documented on or after June 1, 2004. After June 1, 2009, you will not be able to rely on any symptoms that began prior to June 1, 2004 to document a new Disease Option 2 claim. Below is an excerpt from the language in the Guideline documents that are posted on the CAC and Settlement Facility websites concerning the 24 month, 5 year filing requirement:

 

 

To qualify for Disease Option 2 Scleroderma, you must submit your Disease claim to the Settlement Facility (or have submitted it to the MDL 926) within 5 years from the date your qualifying symptoms were documented.

 

If you submitted your Disease claim form to the MDL 926 as part of either the original global settlement in 1994 or the Revised Settlement Program, then the Settlement Facility will look at either the MDL submission date or the SF-DCT submission date that will allow the claimant to qualify.

 

The time period that Dow Corning was in bankruptcy (May 15, 1995 to May 31, 2004) will not be used to calculate whether you filed your claim within 5 years of your qualifying symptoms. For example, if your qualifying symptoms were documented on May 1, 1994, then your time period to file a claim runs from that date, May 1, 1994, to May 14, 1995 (the day before Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy. This is a total of 12.5 months. It begins to run again on June 1, 2004, the date the Plan became effective. Your deadline to file a Disease Option 2 claim in this example is 47.5 months from June 1, 2004, or May 15, 2008.

 

Your qualifying symptoms must have occurred within a single 24 month period within this 5 year period.

 

If you do not file your claim within the 5 years of the date your qualifying symptoms are documented and your symptoms do not occur within a single 24 month time frame within this 5 year period, then you cannot be paid for a Disease Option 2 claim. You may still be compensated in Disease Option 1 if you otherwise qualify based on your symptoms.

 

 

3.      REMINDER – THE REVISED SETTLEMENT PROGRAM IN MDL-926 WILL TERMINATE ON DECEMBER 15, 2010

 

The Revised Settlement Program ("RSP") in MDL-926 will close its Claims Office to new claims on December 15, 2010. The RSP covers women with implants made by Bristol, Baxter and/or 3M/McGhan. If you have a breast implant made by one of these companies and you wish to file a claim or have questions about your claim status in that settlement, you can contact the MDL-926 Claims Office at:

 

Email address

claimsoffice926@aol.com

Mailing address

MDL 926 Claims Office
P.O. Box 56666
Houston, TX 77256

Phone Number

1-800-600-0311

 

 

The MDL-926 Claims Office does accept late claims for those persons who did not previously assert a claim against Bristol, Baxter and/or 3M/McGhan. (The Dow Corning Plan does NOT accept late claims.)

 

 

4.     CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE

 

The following update was posted on the Settlement Facility website on April 7, 2009:

 

Claims Administrator's Desk  
April 7, 2009 Update

Foreign Claimant Update. If you submit medical records in a language other than English, your claim may be delayed for 90 days or maybe longer. The SFDCT can not review your claim until the applicable medical records have been translated. In order to reduce this delay, you may wish to submit your records in English. The SFDCT allows you to submit translated documents as long as you also submit the translator statement under penalties of perjury stating that the translator is proficient in English, that the documents have been correctly translated, and that the translator has no personal or business relationship with you or your attorney. If you pay a fee to have your records translated, the SFDCT will not reimburse you for that expense.

Disease Guideline Changes. On April 21, 2009, the SFDCT made the following corrections to Disease Guidelines. For Systemic Sclerosis/Scleroderma SS, page 24 of the SS Guidelines was revised. For Systemic Lupus Erythematosus SLE, page 61 of the SLE Guidelines was revised. For General Connective Tissue Symptoms GCTS page 91 of the GCTS Guidelines was revised. Please review these changes if you have deficiencies for a SS, SLE, or GCTS claim.

SF-DCT Letter re Cure Deadlines. On March 25, 2009 the SFDCT sent a letter notifying certain claimants of the July 9, 2009 final cure deadline for ACTD. This letter was intended for claimants who had not submitted additional documentation for review in response to a Notification of Status letter. If you had already submitted additional information, you will be notified of any updated information.

Class 7 Update.  Important information for Class 7 Claimants who have received the $3,000.00 cash out offer: If you received the $3,000.00 cash out offer, the SFDCT will not review your disease claim unless you return the check within 180 days from the date on the check. Electing not to cash the check is not the same as returning the check. If you do not return the $3,000.00 check within the applicable time period, then we will not review your disease claim at a later time.

 

5.     CAC UPDATE ON FOREIGN CLAIM ISSUES

 

The Settlement Facility is in the process of translating the Disease Guideline documents into the following languages: German, French, Portugese and Dutch. The translations should be available on the CAC and Settlement Facility websites by the end of April.

 

 

6.     PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION ISSUES

 

The CAC has been contacted by a number of claimants and attorneys who sent breast implants for identification to Dr. Michael Resch in Lincoln, Nebraska but who have been unable to reach Dr. Resch or receive a report on their product ID. If you are having a difficult time receiving your product ID report and/or implants back from Dr. Resch, please contact the CAC at info@tortcomm.org, by phone at 419-394-0717 or by mail: Claimants' Advisory  Committee, P.O. Box 665, St. Marys, OH 45885. Please provide your name, SID number, and any information about what and when you sent your implants to Dr. Resch.

 

 

7.     STATUS OF CLAIMS PROCESSING

 

The Settlement Facility has shifted almost all of its nurse reviewers to address the substantial backlog in Disease Option 2 re-reviews. "Re-reviews" are those claims that have additional information submitted by the claimant to cure or fix problems with the claim found on the original disease review. The CAC will continue to closely monitor this situation. Our goal is for the Settlement Facility to bring all re-review requests current, i.e., a wait time of 30 days or less.

 

Other types of review are, generally speaking, current (30 days or less) including Explant review, review of claims of "Notice of Intent" or NOI claims, and Disease Option 1 claims (which has a slight backlog of 2-3 months).

 

 

8.     UPDATES ON PENDING MOTIONS

 

We have not received any rulings on pending motions.

 

There are no updates regarding Premium Payments. The Finance Committee is currently reviewing information on claims data and payments and has not issued any recommendation to the District Court at this time. We will inform you if there are any developments.

 

 

9.     SETTLEMENT FACILITY PAYMENTS TO CLAIMANTS - $1.085 BILLION

 

As of March 31, 2009, the Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust reports that it has issued checks to claimants in the Dow Corning Settlement Fund totalling approximately $1.085 billion dollars.

 

Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 – Dow Corning Breast Implant Claimants

 

Checks totalling approximately $430.6 million have been issued to 22,189 approved rupture claimants.

 

Checks totalling $138.9 million have been issued to 28,646 claimants for an approved Explant claim, and another $258,000 has been paid to 86 claimants in Class 6.2 who elected the Increased Explant Payment. Approximately $2.9 million has been paid to 581 claimants in the Explant Assistance Program for explantation.

 

Approximately 23,495 approved disease claimants have been issued checks totalling approximately $438.3 million. In addition, the SF-DCT has issued 32,241 checks totalling $55.7 million for Expedited Release.

 

The approval rate for Proof of Manufacturer (POM) for claimants who passed the pre-screening process (i.e., eligibility to participate in the settlement) remains at 90% for Dow Corning breast implant claims in Class 5, 78% for Class 6.1, and 43% for Class 6.2.

 

A breakdown of the payments made from June 1, 2004 through March 31, 2009 by class and benefit type is listed below:

 

Cumulative Payments to All Classes (including NOI claims)

June 1, 2004 – March 31, 2009

 

 

 

 

Class

 

 

 

Rupture

 

 

 

Explant

 

 

Increased Explant

 

Explant Assistance Program

 

 

Expedited Release

 

 

 

Disease

Medical Conditions in Class 9/10

Other

 Products Premium Payment

 

 

 

Total

Class 5

 

$416,848,048.66

 

$134,859,392.09

 

n/a

 

$2,866,341.10

 

$30,629,521.89

 

$433,842,321.15

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$1,019,045,624.89

Class 6.1

 

$ 12,814,950.51

 

$ 3,979,058.66

 

n/a

 

$ 9,000.00

 

$ 2,498,088.51

 

$ 4,180,618.48

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 23,481,716.16

Class 6.2

 

$ 794,500.00

 

$ 77,000.00

 

$258,000

 

$ 0.00

 

$ 46,200.00

 

$ 278,250.00

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 1,453,950.00

Class 6.2: 2

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 84,500.00

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 84,500.00

Class 6.2: 3

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 123,000.00

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 123,600.00

Class 7

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$20,380,142.58

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 20,380,142.58

Class 9

 

$ 125,000.00

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 1,743,145.10

 

n/a

 

$2,827,500

 

$14,057,500

 

$ 18,753,145.10

Class 10.1/2

 

$ 6,000.00

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

n/a

 

$ 150,450.00

 

n/a

 

$ 213,625

 

$ 1,035,875

 

$ 1,405,950.00

 

Total

 

$430,588,499.17

 

$138,915,450.75

 

$258,000

 

$2,875,341.10

 

$55,655,048.08

 

$438,301,189.63

 

$3,041,125

 

$15,093,375

 

$1,084,728,028.73

 

 

 

Class 7 – Silicone Gel Material Claims

 

Disease Cash-Out Offers: A total of 7,179 claimants in Class 7 have been sent the $3,000 Disease Cash-Out offer. Of this number, 77% have cashed the check and accepted the payment, 16% have returned the check and asked for a full disease review, and 7% are pending (they have not cashed the check or returned it to the SF-DCT). Most of the claimants who rejected the offer have applied for a Disease Option 1 claim (8460) and, of this number, 655 reviews have been completed. No claims in Disease Option 2 for Class 7 have been reviewed. The Settlement Facility has begun issuing Notification of Status letters; however, no Class 7 disease claims can be paid until all disease claims have been reviewed and the one-year time deadline to cure deficiencies has expired. This will take at least another year or more to complete.

 

The total payout of cashed checks from the capped $57.5 million NPV fund through March 31, 2009 is $20,380,142.58.

 

Class 7 – Silicone Gel Material Claims

# Class 7 Forms Filed

54,712

# of claims that are NOT eligible based on POM review

 8,401

# of claims that failed marshalling

29,056

Foreign Gel Claims Approved & Paid $600

619

Expedited Release Claims Approved & Paid $600

6,829

# of Disease Cash-Out Offers of $3,000

7,179

TOTAL PAYMENTS OR CASH-OUT OFFERS

     14,627

TOTAL # of Claims Paid (excluding those who rejected the Cash-Out Offer)

      12,975

TOTAL AMT PAID as of 3-31-09

$20,380,142.58

 

 

Notice of Intent (NOI) Claims Processing

 

The Settlement Facility has paid a total of $23,933,200 in Explant and Rupture payments to Notice of Intent (NOI) claimants, including the second installment on approved Rupture claims. The SF-DCT is continuing to process and pay these claims.

 

 

Type of Claim

Total Claims Paid

Amount

Rupture

938

$18,733,800

Explant

1,007

$ 5,024,200

Explant Assistance Program

36

$ 175,200

Total

1,981

$23,933,200

 

 

10. DEADINE REMINDERS

 

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadlines. Note that different deadlines apply to Notice of Intent (NOI) Claimants and Late Claimants. Please note that most of these deadlines mean that your claim forms and materials must be received by the SF-DCT 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.

 

Deadline Date

Type of Deadline

May 4, 2009

Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)

July 9, 2009

Cure Deadline for certain claimants who previously filed a claim for Atypical Connective Tissue Disease (ACTD) (consult the SF-DCT about your specific cure deadline)

June 2, 2014

Explant Claims submission deadline for timely filed claimants in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (NOTE: this deadline does NOT apply to NOI claimants or Late Claimants)

June 3, 2019

Disease or Expedited Release Claim submission deadline for all claims in Classes 5, 6.1 and 6.2 (this deadline does NOT apply to Late Claimants)

 

_______________________________________________________________________

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 Post Office Box address for the CAC at:

 

Claimants' Advisory Committee

P.O. Box 665

St. Marys, Ohio 45885

 

Phone Number: (419) 394-0717

Fax Number: (419) 394-1748

Email:  info@tortcomm.org

 

 

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.