Mass Tort Litigation Attorney

Foley & Small Has handled a variety of mass tort litigation claims. This process allows for the efficient and expeditious handling of claim situations that involve many, many people.

WHAT IS A MASS TORT?

Mass tort litigation involves cases where people throughout the country have been injured or have suffered losses because of a defective product or because of the illegal conduct of a company or person that harms many people. For example, the litigation involving Vioxx was handled on a mass tort basis because there were people throughout the United States who had suffered a variety of problems because of the blood clotting side effects from using of Vioxx. There were Vioxx cases filed in courts across the United States. Those cases were consolidated into a single proceeding in a Federal District Court in Louisiana. There pre-trial proceedings were undertaken. Those proceedings involved the exchange of information, the exchange of documents completing depositions and dealing with expert witnesses. After this trial preparation work was completed, the individual case would be transferred to the local court where it was originally filed where the actual trial would take place.

MASS TORTS, CLASS ACTIONS & MDL PROCEEDINGS

A mass tort handled in this fashion is not the same as a class action. In a class action, there will be one trial for everyone at one central court. With a mass tort proceeding, which is also referred to as a MDL, a multi-district litigation proceeding, common pre-trial work that can be used in cases throughout the country is done on a consolidated basis in one court so that this work, and the cost associated with it, is not duplicated in each and every case. When this pre-trial work is done, the case is brought back to the local court where it was originally filed for the actual trial.

TYPES OF MASS TORT CLAIMS

At Foley & Small, we have handled a variety of mass tort cases. These include Vioxx cases, cases involving the drug Digitek which resulted in patient overdoses and cases involving defective hernia patches, the Kugel hernia patch, where the outer ring of these patches would fracture and then injure the patient. Apart from such medical and pharmaceutical mass tort cases, there are other cases involving mass torts. There is litigation going on now involving imported Chinese drywall used in building construction. This drywall was manufactured in China and has contaminates in it. These contaminates, when exposed to a moist environment, generates sulfuric gas which then corrodes all the copper wiring and tubing in one’s home. There has also been mass tort litigation involving commercial fraud where a particular company, such as investment firm, insurance company or other firm, has engaged in some type of fraudulent conduct and taking a customer’s money.

SETTLEMENT OF MASS TORT CLAIMS

Sometimes, as in the Vioxx litigation, the parties will enter into negotiations to settle the claims. If a proposed agreement is reached, it is presented to each claimant and they can decide whether to participate in the settlement or proceed on to trial.

CONTACT FOLEY & SMALL

If you are the victim of a mass tort, contact us at Foley & Small. We can help you. Click on the link at the top right of this page for a live chat with a member of our staff or email us from our Contact page. You can also call us at 800-276-2525.