At Lawyer Legion, we created a directory of attorneys focused on mass tort cases and litigation. You can search for personal injury attorneys focused on class action and mass tort cases using our directory. Search by state, city, or zip code.
Find profiles for different attorneys in a particular city or state. The profiles have information on the attorney's membership and leadership in legal organizations related to personal injury, class action lawsuits or mass tort claims, speaking engagements at quality CLE seminars, and participation in specialty certification programs.
A mass tort is any civil wrong that causes injury and damage to a great number of victims. The injury can be man-made from tainted or dangerous medicines, commercial airline crashes, a defective tire installed on hundreds of thousands of vehicles, the discharge of toxic materials into a local aquifer, asbestos poisoning or a manufacturer who produces a tobacco product with knowledge of its long-term effects. The primary requirement is that the harm or injury is done to a very large population, sometimes spread out over the entire country.
Large event with tens of thousands of injured parties has the ability to overwhelm and paralyze the court system which will be required to determine liability and damages. If each injured victim files their own claim in their hometown jurisdiction, chaos would result. The likelihood is that different courts determining the same question of liability will have different, conflicting results. Judicial economy and due process require a consolidation of these claims which benefits both parties.
When the discussion of mass tort occurs, the conversation is about the structure and management of the discovery and trial process. Many of the mass tort events are handled in the federal system’s Multi-District Litigation (MDL) which is found in the United States Code. The Code has provisions for the way these large claims are handled so that claims can be properly adjudicated while protecting the rights of each of the parties so justice can be done.
The handling of mass torts is a relatively new area of the law. The goal of this area of the law is to have a large number of claims handled efficiently and fairly in a logical, organized manner consistent with due process and notice requirements. Like class actions, the handling and representation of victims in large cases require a large financial commitment.
The attorneys for the named plaintiff will be paid from the settlement fund on a contingency recovery basis which specific fee must be approved by the court. The attorneys must file a detailed motion seeking payment and all parties and the Court have the opportunity to review it for reasonableness. All parties in interest have the right to file written objections to the request for fees and expenses. A hearing will be held and the Court decides the fee and cost reimbursement based on established considerations.
Much like class-action lawsuits, these large, mass tort cases are handled by a large firm or an affiliation of several large firms. Although there are similarities, there are also differences between mass tort vs. class action claims. As an individual harmed, you may have a right to represent yourself but due to the complex nature of these claims and the number of them, it would most likely not serve your interests well. Many of these MDL claims do have claimants with local counsel who monitor their interests but will not participate in the discovery phase or trial phase of the case.
Because of the magnitude of events and injuries, the law firms who handle MDL cases must have strong financial resources, strong staffing levels, and significant clerical support, commensurate with the size and magnitude of the injuries and damages.
Lawyers who focus on representing parties in MDL claims are large firms, generally with a presence in multiple jurisdictions and states. The firms have lawyers who specialize in the various parts of the claims and other lawyers who specialize in MDL procedures. The singular representation of a large mass tort case is often too great a task for any single lawyer.
Attorneys that focus on mass torts fight for a large number of plaintiffs asserting a claim. Mass tort cases arise in a number of different legal settings including employment claims, securities litigation, antitrust, aviation, various types of products liability litigation, pharmaceutical, toxic torts, and environmental law.
At Lawyer Legion, we created our online directory of personal injury lawyers to help the public find a qualified attorney in a variety of practice areas such as mass torts or class action lawsuits. We organize attorneys according to the focus of their practice, their membership. and leadership in organizations related to mass tort claims, and other objective factors.
Use our online attorney directory to find attorneys for mass tort cases throughout the United States.
This article was last updated on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.
