What is a Mass Tort Case?
A mass tort lawsuit, by definition, is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few defendants in state or federal court. Mass tort comes from the word “mass accidents”. When there is a large amount of suffering from similar illnesses or harm caused by the same company. Mass torts cases are filed under multidistrict litigations (MDL). They generally develop from mass disasters, mass toxic parts, and product liability torts. Mass torts reduce the number of court cases by combining multiple cases into one mass tort.
How do you Resolve Mass Torts?
Lawyers handle mass tort lawsuits in a group organized settlement or individually treated. People have a choice whether they want to participate in the group lawsuit or have their case handled individually. They become resolved by a single negation agreement or trial outcome. Some of the issues cases deal with are:
- Factual and Legal Issues
- Establishing causation for latent injuries is difficult
- The Special Risk Profile of Mass Litigation
- Future Injuries and Future Plaintiffs
- Conflicts of Interest.
- The Aggregation Dilemma
Difference Between a Class Action and a Mass Tort?
Most people confuse mass tort cases for class action cases because they are similar in many ways. They both include a large group of plaintiffs that either suffered from similar injuries or developed similar illnesses from the same product or service taken or used. Both are combined lawsuits that are treated as a group. However, they are different because of how they operate in the courts and court proceedings.
With class action lawsuits, you are called upon the case. Then you must claim and file your lawsuit by a certain deadline. If you do not opt-in by the deadline, then you will have to seek other legal help. In addition, class action cases are not treated individually but treated as a whole group. With mass tort cases, they are treated individually, as separate plaintiffs. To learn more about the difference between class action cases vs mass tort cases, click here for more information.
What Types of Mass Tort Claims are Most Common?
There are many types of mass tort cases. The most common would be:
- Mass Disasters: Either a natural disaster or manmade disaster that causes damages or injuries.
- Product Liability: If a product is defective, it gave poor instructions, or failed to warn about certain dangers which caused injuries to some people.
- Medical Device: This is when a medical device is defective or ultimately becomes harmful to those who have them.
- Prescription Drug: when a drug evidently causes illnesses or harm like cancer or other medical problems
- Toxic Contamination: When a group of people is exposed to a toxic chemical or substance and look to seek compensation as a whole.
What is the Process for a Mass Tort Claim?
The basic steps for the process of a mass tort claim are:
- Review Records: Mass tort lawyers will review your medical records, statements, and purchase/attendance records with the drug, device, accident, or disaster.
- Injury Consistency: Mass tort lawyers will go over injuries between the people that were affected and observe the similarities for evidence against the prosecuted.
- Federal Court Filing: The cases are usually filed under the United States Judicial Court under multidistrict litigation (MDL).
- Trials: Smaller groups of lawsuits are usually tried first. The results from those lawsuits will determine how future lawsuit outcomes will be.
- Settlement: The claims become settled after negotiations and jury verdicts.
How Long Does a Mass Tort Take?
A mass tort lawsuit typically takes longer than personal injury cases because there are multiple plaintiffs and cases involved. Besides multiple plaintiffs, mass tort lawsuits usually take a few years before they finally settle due to a number of factors, including recalls, new medical findings, and time proving the injuries linked to the mass tort claimed.
What Type of Damages Can I Claim in a Mass Tort Case?
The type of damages you can claim for a mass tort case ultimately depends on the type of mass tort case you have. But the most common damages people are after are:
- Current and future medical bills
- Lost work time related to your injury
- Disability and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional damages
How do I Know If I Have a Mass Tort Case?
For every mass tort case, there is a criterion that you must meet in order to qualify for the case. You must answer yes to all of the questions in order to qualify for the case. The questions will typically include:
- Have you had sufficient exposure to the drug, device, product, disaster, or accident?
- Did you suffer from the injuries or illnesses listed for this specific mass tort?
- Have you received emergency medical care for the injury that allegedly occurred from the product?
What Are Some Famous Examples of Mass Torts Lawsuits?
Some famous examples of mass tort lawsuit settlements are:
- Transvaginal Mesh
- Zofran
- Xarelto
- IVC Filters
- Syngenta GMO Corn Litigation
What are the Latest Trending Mass Tort Cases?
The latest trending mass tort cases right now include:
- Truvada
- Penumbra
- Talc
- PFAS/Firefighting Foam
- Elmiron
- Paragard
- Zantac
- Juul
- Roundup
To read about these trending cases mass tort cases, click here now for more information.