Gloria McVicar - Defective Medical Product - Confidential Settlement

Client Thankful for Firm's Work In Defective Dow Breast Implant Case

Gloria McVicar loathes the day she decided to get breast implants.

"It was a long time ago," says Gloria, who got them in the 1970s, when Dow Corning silicone implants were the way to go. "I was young and stupid," she says.

But Gloria knows that what happened to her implants was not her fault. Clearly, based on Dow Chemical's own internal research documents that have become public over the years, this was a defective product.

About 10 years ago, nearly two decades after she got those silicone implants, her left implant ruptured and started to leak. It was excruciating pain, she says. She noticed a huge sore on her nipple when she woke up one morning and that's how she knew something was horribly wrong.

Her doctor immediately sent her to a breast implant specialist who took x-rays and told her right away that her left implant had ruptured and would need to be removed as soon as possible.

"He asked me if I wanted one removed or both removed," she said. "I wanted both gone of course." She simply could not trust those defective products any more.

She underwent outpatient surgery the next day. The surgery lasted about two hours. Surgeons had to remove not only the implants, but a lot of the muscle and the tissue surrounding the implant as well.

"It left me in pain and it left me disfigured," she says. "My breasts would never be the same again."

Recovering from the surgery, Gloria watched a commercial on television announcing a class action lawsuit by victims of these defective products manufactured by Dow Corning.

Gloria wasn't the only one. In fact, there are many records that came out over the last 10 to 15 years, which showed that Dow Chemical knew as early as the 1950s that silicone and silica used in their breast implants were toxic and inflammatory when placed inside the human body. But the company did nothing to stop manufacturing, marketing or selling them and did nothing to warn women about the possible risks and dangers involved. Gloria knew that she was a victim.

"I immediately told my husband that we need to call an attorney," Gloria said. "I would recommend Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys to anyone. They fought for me." She found Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys name and called them. The first person she talked to in the office was Shannon Barker.

"She told me that they were dealing with a couple of these cases and asked me to come in and meet them," Gloria said.

So a couple of days later, as her husband waited outside in the car, Gloria walked into Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys Newport Beach office for a quick consultation.

"But when I got in and started talking to Shannon, I knew right away that this is who I wanted to represent me," she said.

Shannon was not only kind, sensitive and understanding, but also empathetic to her situation, Gloria said.

"She was so down-to-earth and made me feel very comfortable," she says. "If I hadn't felt comfortable right off the bat, I'd have walked out of there."

The fight from there was a long and arduous one that involved a lot of phone calls and paper work. Attorney Clarice Letizia was assigned Gloria's case. The two never met, but Gloria says she was extremely pleased with the firm's high standard of customer service. They always kept her well-informed and in the loop.

"I would recommend Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys to anyone," she said. "They fought for me. They really did. I've never met the attorney face to face. I've only talked to her over the phone. But I know she was sincere and genuine and did her best to get every penny she possibly could."

The most significant thing the firm did for the case was to locate the doctor who gave Gloria her implants.

"It had been a really long time since I got them," she said. "The doctor had retired."

It was quite a task to find the doctor.

"Not only did she find him, but she questioned him and persisted until he told her that he was 99 percent sure that he had put Dow Corning silicone implants in me," she said. "It happened because the Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys pushed him and pushed him."

But the fight didn't end there. It was just the beginning. Gloria's case went from court to court because Dow was simply not willing to take the doctor's word. Ninety nine percent wasn't good enough for them.

"I was mad at them, but my attorney was madder," Gloria says with a laugh. "I like that in an attorney."

Gloria could literally visualize the Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys pumping her fist and even heard her fling a few choice words at the opponents during one of their phone conversations.

"I was like, 'You go girl,'" Gloria said. "You want someone like Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys fighting for your rights. They're aggressive, but also very compassionate. When my husband passed away right before the settlement, they sent me the most beautiful flower arrangement. I was really touched."

"With Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys, I'm confident that whether they get $100 out of it or $1 million out of it, they put in the same amount of effort into their cases," she says. "They take on cases not just for the money, but because they believe in the cause of consumer rights."

The money for the settlement helped Gloria get a new start in North Carolina after her husband passed away. The case was an educational experience for her too and opened her eyes to the effects defective products can have on your life, Gloria said.

"I trusted Dow because they have a name as a good brand," she says. "I'm sure there were many others like me who thought, 'What could possibly go wrong?' But things went horribly wrong for a lot of people and they need to be held accountable for it."