A French court has ruled a German safety standards firm should pay compensation to hundreds of women around the world fitted with faulty breast implants.
TUV Rheinland awarded European safety certificates to French company PIP (Poly Implant Prothese) which made the implants. The silicone inside was found to be sub-standard and prone to rupturing.
PIP was shut down in March 2010 amidst a worldwide health scare, the BBC reports.
Founder Jean Claude Mas is still on trial in Marseille, along with four of his executives, charged with aggravated fraud.
During police interviews, he confessed that he had ordered employees to hide unauthorised silicone they were using when inspectors were visiting his factory.
It has since emerge that the sub-standard gel was used in 75% of his products. Four thousand ruptures of the implants have been reported.
On Thursday, a civil court in Toulon agreed with lawyers for the plaintiffs that TUV Rheinland must bear some responsibility.
The plaintiffs in the civil case will be given an initial payment of €3000 per victim for surgery to have the implants removed.
A ruling is expected in Jean Claude Mas' case on 10 December.
