Prentiss and Woodbine say that the effect of Dow's bankruptcy filing may be to force all of the individual plaintiffs into the settlement agreement. Both lawyers say that one of Dow's aims in filing for bankruptcy is to limit the amount of money that it will eventually have to pay out in settlements to each woman who is seeking money from the company.

A few of Woodbine's clients are exotic dancers, but, he said, "most didn't do it for vanity." He said one of his clients had the surgery because she had breasts of very different sizes. Another had the surgery in 1966 because, she told him, it was expected that waitresses like herself portray a certain body image.

Under the settlement program, a woman is not required to prove a causal connection between her breast implant and the symptoms she is experiencing. A doctor's diagnosis of certain specified symptoms - those that could likely be expected from silicone leakage - is sufficient to collect money damages, once a claimant's case passes screening by a special claims committee.