Buried under the weight of injury claims filed by thousands of women who have used silicone breast implants, the Dow Corning Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal court in Bay City, Michigan, US in May. This move will preempt all new lawsuits and efforts to settle existing litigation against the company. More than 1 million American women have had breast implants, the majority of them using products made by Dow Corning. Those aggrieved say that ruptured or leaking implants have caused a variety of cancers and autoimmune diseases.