CLAIMANTS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE E-NEWSLETTER

Dow Corning Bankruptcy Settlement

Volume 14, No. 3, March 15, 2017

 

Contact the CAC at: info@tortcomm.org or

phone: (419) 394-0717

fax: (419) 394-1748

www.tortcomm.org

 

 

 

CAC                                                                                                                Sybil Niden Goldrich

P.O. Box 665                                                                                                  Ernest Hornsby, Esq.

St. Marys, OH 45885                                                            Dianna Pendleton-Dominguez, Esq.

 

 

This is the 139th e-newsletter (Vol. 14, No. 3) 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.  To contact the CAC, use the email address: info@tortcomm.org or dpend440@aol.com. You can also contact the CAC directly at 419-394-0717.

FINAL DEADLINE TO FILE A CLAIM – JUNE 3, 2019

The FINAL deadline to file a claim for either Disease or Expedited Release is June 3, 2019. After this date, the Settlement Facility offices will permanently close to all new claims. After reviewing claims submitted by the deadline, the Settlement Facility will begin to wind up operations to close down permanently.

This means that you MUST submit the following forms and/or documents to the Settlement Facility on or before June 3, 2019.  We urge everyone to mail the documents so that they are RECEIVED by the Settlement Facility by June 3, 2019 and/or that you send your forms and documents by certified mail or an overnight service so that you can prove that they were mailed on time. Many claimants have been denied benefits because they mailed their forms in late.

To submit a claim for Expedited Release OR Disease, you need to send the following forms and documents to the Settlement Facility:

-          A signed, completed Proof of Manufacture form along with medical records or other acceptable proof that established that you have or had a Dow Corning breast implant.  Here are links to the Proof of Manufacturer forms: 

http://www.tortcomm.org/sfdct_forms.shtml

AND

-          A signed, completed Expedited Release / Disease form. If you request a Disease review, you must also submit medical records and other documents that meet the Plan criteria. If you request an Expedited Release Payment (and have acceptable Proof that you had a Dow Corning breast implant), then you do not need to submit any additional documents.  Please note that the claim form lists the deadline to apply for Expedited Release as three years from the Effective Date. This deadline was extended. The deadline to apply for Expedited Release is now June 3, 2019.

Links to the Class 5, 6.1, and 6.2 Expedited Release or Disease FORM are on this page:

      http://www.tortcomm.org/sfdct_forms.shtml

 

Women in Class 5 (U.S.) who have a Dow Corning breast implant but who do not have a Disease or do NOT intend to pursue a Disease claim can receive $2,000 NOW by completing the Expedited Release / Disease claim form. Payment can be issued immediately (within 30 days). A link to the claim form is above.

Women who intend to apply for a Disease payment should be working on that disease submission now or in the near future. It can take months to get doctor’s appointments and to request medical records that document the necessary symptoms, conditions, and/or disabilities. Most women who have filed a Disease claim filed one for “Atypical Connective Tissue Diseases” or ACTD.  For a list of eligible symptoms for ACTD, click here and review the Guidelines carefully: 

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

You do not need an attorney to help you file a Disease claim. However, claimants who had an attorney were more likely to have their Disease claim approved.

 

Other eligible disease and condition guidelines are listed here: 

http://www.tortcomm.org/diseaseclaims.shtml

 

The deadline to apply for Explant or Rupture has passed. The Settlement Facility will NOT review or accept any new claims for Explant or Rupture.

 

INCREASED SEVERITY DISEASE PAYMENTS:  If you have an approved Disease, you can apply for an Increased Severity Disease Payment.  The deadline to do this is June 3, 2019.

If your original Disease claim was approved in Disease Option 1 (such as ACTD), then you can only apply for an Increased Severity Payment in Disease Option 1. You cannot move to Disease Option 2.  Also, to qualify, your Increased Severity claim must now meet the Level A requirement. For example, if you had an approved ACTD claim at Level C (35% disability), the only way you can recover for Increased Severity for Disease Option 1 is if you meet the criteria for Level A (100% disability or death).  Claimants are paid the difference between their original award and the new Level A award. There is a cap of $15 million for all approved Increased Severity claims in Disease Option 1.

For more information on this, review the Disease guidelines on our website at:  http://www.tortcomm.org/diseaseclaims.shtml   

 

If your original Disease claim was approved in Disease Option 2, then you can only apply for an Increased Severity Payment in Disease Option 2. You do not need to meet the Level A criteria for this Increased Severity claim. Any upward movement is allowed. For example, if you were previously approved for Disease Option 2 Lupus Level C, you can qualify for Increased Severity if you now meet the criteria for either Level A or B.  Claimants are paid the difference between their original award and the new award. Approved Increased Severity claims in Disease Option 2 do not have a capped amount for all approved claims.

You do not need a claim form to submit an Increased Severity claim. You can mail your documents to the SF-DCT and request an Increased Severity review. YOU MUST FIRST HAVE AN APPROVED DISEASE CLAIM TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN INCREASED SEVERITY REVIEW.

 

If you have any questions about how to file a disease claim, we urge you to review our website at www.tortcomm.org. There is a lot of information there about the settlement process with links to disease criteria, forms, orders, motions, other documents, and guidelines.

If you want to know the status of your claim, email the Settlement Facility at info@sfdct.com.

 

STATUS OF FINANCE COMMITTEE’S MOTON ON PREMIUM PAYMENTS

The Claimants’ Advisory Committee submitted its brief in support of the Finance Committee’s recommendation to resume paying the initial 50% Partial Premium Payments. If approved, this 50% would be paid to claimants who have not received their 50% Partial Premium Payment yet.  Copies of the briefs are on the CAC website at www.tortcomm.org.   Dow Corning filed a brief opposing the recommendation. Their brief is also on our website. A hearing is scheduled for March 23 in Detroit. We do not expect the Court to rule at this hearing. It is oral argument only. We are hopeful that the Court will rule sometime before this summer. We will continue you update you in our newsletters and on our website.

 

CLAIMS ISSUES

            KEEP YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATED WITH THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY!  It is very important to notify the Settlement Facility if your name changes, if you move, or if any other contact information changes. This applies to attorneys as well for any changes in demographic information. We also urge you to send the Settlement Facility your email address. Send them an email at:  info@sfdct.com. This could help the Settlement Facility find you if you move and forget to notify them. It could also help them contact you about your claim and/or payment.

 

            IF A CLAIMANT HAS PASSED AWAY, HER ESTATE MAY STILL RECEIVE BENEFITS. It is important to notify the Settlement Facility if a claimant passes away.  Claimants may be able to file a Small Estate Claims affidavit to recover the benefits. Others will need to have a probate court appoint an Executor or Personal Representative. This can usually be done easily with the help of a probate attorney or by completing the necessary forms with the probate division of your local court. For more information, contact the Settlement Facility.

 

            IT IS IMPORTANT TO RESPOND TO THE SETTLEMENT FACILITY TO FIX ANY PROBLEMS IN YOUR CLAIM.  Many claimants have been approved for benefits but they need to fix a minor problem before they can be paid. For example, a claimant may have sent in the right form and documents, but forgot to sign the form.  Or foreign claimants must submit proof of identity such as a passport but they haven’t done this yet.  The Settlement Facility sent claimants a letter and told them what is missing in their claim. Many claimants have ignored these letters. We urge all claimants to carefully read the letters from the Settlement Facility and respond. Most of these problems are easy to fix but until you do so, your payment is on hold.

 

 

 

EXPLANT ASSISTANCE

The Dow Corning Settlement Fund is closed to Explant and Explant Assistance claims. The deadline to file a claim was June 1, 2014.  This means that if you did not have your Dow Corning breast implants removed by this date, there are unfortunately NO explant benefits available to you from the Settlement Facility.  The deadline to file a Rupture claim has also passed and new claims are not accepted.

The Common Benefit Fund – which is not affiliated with the Dow Corning Settlement Fund – may be able to help. If you need financial help getting your breast implants removed, contact the Common Benefit Fund at jcondra@oplc.org to see if you qualify for any assistance.

 

 

STATUS OF CLAIMS PAYMENTS TO ALL CLASSES AS OF FEBRUARY 2017

Since June 1, 2004 (the Effective Date of the Plan), the Settlement Facility has issued payments totaling approximately $1.343 billion. The chart below shows how this amount is broken down by class and benefit. The top part of the chart shows payments in dollars. The bottom half shows the number of approved claims in each class. For example, the Settlement Facility issued approximately $427 million in Rupture claims to 21,509 Class 5 claimants.

2/28/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INCLUDES NOI PAYMENTS (DOES NOT INCLUDE STALE CHECKS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUPTURE

EXPLANT

INCREASED EXPLANT

EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP)

EXPEDITED

DISEASE

MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE)

OTHER PRODUCTS PREMIUM PAYMENT

TOTAL

CLASS 5

$427,288,547.19

$146,595,634.71

N/A

$4,206,791.10

$45,730,763.71

$618,476,528.83

N/A

N/A

$1,242,298,265.54

CLASS 6.1

$14,184,750.51

$4,608,969.90

N/A

$12,000.00

$3,403,943.85

$9,605,218.48

N/A

N/A

$31,814,882.74

CLASS 6.2

$3,703,000.00

$251,500.00

$1,314,000.00

$15,000.00

$176,400.00

$4,476,850.00

N/A

N/A

$9,936,750.00

CLASS 6.2 2

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

$119,800.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

$119,800.00

CLASS 6.2 3

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

$516,600.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

$516,600.00

CLASS 7

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

$25,124,986.79

$12,976,582.81

N/A

N/A

$38,101,569.60

CLASS 9

$130,000.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

$1,762,145.10

N/A

$2,866,500.00

$14,215,000.00

$18,973,645.10

CLASS 10.2 / 10.2

$6,000.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

$155,850.00

N/A

$224,125.00

$1,050,875.00

$1,436,850.00

TOTAL

$445,312,297.70

$151,456,104.61

$1,314,000.00

$4,233,791.10

$76,990,489.45

$645,535,180.12

$3,090,625.00

$15,265,875.00

$1,343,198,362.98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUPTURE

EXPLANT

INCREASED EXPLANT

EXPLANT ASSISTANCE (EAP)

EXPEDITED

DISEASE

MEDICAL CONDITIONS (IFBR, TMJ, IMPLANT FAILURE)

TOTAL

CLASS 5

21,509

29,624

N/A

848

23,092

29,426

N/A

N/A

104,499

CLASS 6.1

1,187

1,554

N/A

4

2,847

1,010

N/A

N/A

6,602

CLASS 6.2

529

138

438

5

252

1,173

N/A

N/A

2,535

CLASS 6.2 2

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

101

N/A

N/A

N/A

101

CLASS 6.2 3

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

861

N/A

N/A

N/A

861

CLASS 7

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

16,539

1,592

N/A

N/A

18,131

CLASS 9

26

N/A

N/A

N/A

1,763

N/A

476

498

2,763

CLASS 10.2 / 10.2

2

N/A

N/A

N/A

261

N/A

65

64

392

TOTAL

23,253

31,316

438

857

45,716

33,201

541

562

135,884

 

The Settlement Facility is current in processing disease claims and re-reviews (claims that had errors in them and have submitted additional information to review).

 

DEADLINE REMINDERS            

Please mark your calendar with the following claim submission deadline. Please note that this deadline means 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.

 

Deadline Date

Type of Deadline

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)

Increased Severity claims in Disease Option 1 and Disease Option 2 for all approved disease claims in Classes 5, 6.1, and 6.2.

 

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.

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.