Mass Torts
Redwood Grove Law specializes in mass torts and MDL (multi-district litigation). We bring together many claimants to level the playing field between you and the big businesses trying to outmuscle the average American. Contact us today to start your free case evaluation if you think you are part of a mass tort.
What is a Mass Tort?
A mass tort is a civil action that involves multiple plaintiffs with similar claims. Mass torts are usually filed by individuals who have suffered injury due to a corporation’s negligence or misconduct. For example, a company might produce a defective product that causes physical injuries or economic harm to thousands of individuals all over the United States.
Mass torts generally are filed as part of a “multidistrict litigation” (an MDL) or as a class action.
What is a Class Action?
A class action is a legal proceeding in which one or more plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group, known as the class. Any proceeds from a class-action suit (after legal fees), whether through a judgment or a settlement, are shared among all members of the class.
Certification as a class can enable litigation to proceed more expeditiously and cost-effectively, particularly in cases against large corporations. Because they lower the cost of legal claims, class actions may provide the only means for some plaintiffs to pursue their cases.
What is Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)?
A multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a type of legal proceeding that can occur after multiple lawsuits are filed in federal court by individuals who have sustained similar injuries due to a company’s conduct. The lawsuits are joined before one federal judge for the purpose of discovery and important legal rulings. The judge overseeing the litigation appoints a select group of attorneys on behalf of all individuals.
An MDL usually takes many years to resolve, and the law firms appointed by the judge routinely expend many millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours of time trying to prove the case for the plaintiffs. Many times, those law firms will be able to work out a settlement, especially after there have been a few bellwether trials to help both sides determine the reasonable value of the cases. No individual is required to participate in a settlement. Instead, a settlement is structured such that each individual’s case is evaluated on its own merits, including exposure, causation, injuries, and damages. Each individual is able to make their own decision after hearing the terms.
If the law firms cannot work out a settlement, then eventually plaintiffs who have not settled their claims will need to have their individual cases tried in court. Even if the MDL does not settle, the benefit is that each law firm and their clients will be able to use the collective evidence that was gathered during the MDL process.
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