Mass Tort and Class Action Lawsuits for Personal Injuries
When more than one person is injured by the same at-fault party, more than one lawsuit may be filed. Depending on facts and circumstances, this could lead to mass torts or class actions, which can be launched as a separate and complex action. Both legal actions have often been interchanged because they seem similar. The two actions, however, are not as similar as people may think. In fact, the processes are different. They can result in outcomes that are spectacularly different. And that matters if you have suffered a personal injury.
So, it’s important to know where these two legal actions diverge, especially if you have suffered an injury caused by another and have learned that other people have also suffered the same or similar fate. Sometimes, you don’t want to join a class action when a better option is available. Speaking to an attorney first is critical. We help you find an attorney whose experience speaks for itself and whose commitment speaks for you.
What are Mass Torts & Class Action Lawsuits?
Mass torts and class action lawsuits are similar because they are legal actions that involve a large group of people across California and beyond who have been harmed by the same wrongful act. The primary difference is this: individual lawsuits versus class members.
In a mass tort action, though there may be dozens or hundreds of victims who were harmed under the same or similar facts and circumstances by the same defendant(s), each victim files his or her own lawsuit. Under a class action, there are class members, and they do not file their own individual lawsuit. This main difference is also the source of a number of other distinguishing factors. Here’s an overview of each type of legal action.
Mass Tort Lawsuits
A mass tort occurs when multiple people are injured by the same or similar event or device and file individual lawsuits against the same defendant. These mass lawsuits can be filed anywhere in California as well as across the United States.
Mass Tort Characteristics
1. Multiple Plaintiffs. A mass tort is a mass tort because there are a lot of victims associated with the same defendant and the same defective product, incident, or disaster. Typically, there are a dozen or up to a few hundred victims in any given mass tort action.
2. Individual Lawsuits. Though there are multiple victims considered in the same “group,” they are still each treated separately. Each individual victim files their own respective lawsuits, but it’s important that the lawsuits occur at the same time or within the same time frame so that they can be used as leverage against the defendant.
3. Attorney Representation. Each claimant has their own attorney; there isn’t one law firm to represent all the plaintiffs.
4. Similar Legal Issues. The cases share the same legal questions related to the defective product, incident, or disaster but the factual situations may differ.
5. Customized Damages. Each plaintiff will have a statement of claim against the defendant, but the damages claimed will not be the same––damages will reflect the individual injuries each plaintiff suffered. For example, one person may have been injured more severely than another victim and so accrued more medical bills, was out of work longer, and may have also experienced more pain and suffering. This person will claim more in the way of economic and non-economic damages than the other victim.
6. Settlement Negotiations. It is always in most parties’ best interests to settle. In mass tort situations, the plaintiff can be active in the negotiation process. Further, the plaintiff can counter or reject a settlement offer just as he or she can accept one.
7. Consolidation. Mass tort claims typically are combined in the preliminary stages of the lawsuits for efficacy and efficiency purposes. This means discovery and other pre-trial matters will most probably be conducted together rather than separately. Then, when/if trial is to proceed, each plaintiff has his or her day in court. So, one plaintiff could win while another plaintiff loses. The consolidation of mass torts is better known as multi-district litigation (MDL). MDL is actually the method to facilitate compensation to victims of mass torts.
Examples of Mass Torts
- Defective products that can include things like:
- Medical devices (e.g., hernia mesh, which can cause many different injuries least not of which include sepsis or hernia recurrence)
- Agricultural products (e.g., Roundup, which can cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma)
- Building products (e.g., asbestos, which can cause Mesothelioma)
- Automobiles (e.g., faulty tires, faulty airbags, etc., which can cause serious injury or fatal accidents)
- Prescription drugs (e.g., Vioxx, an NSAID prescription medicine to reduce symptoms of arthritis can also cause heart attacks and strokes; opioid, a pain medication that has led to serious addiction and deaths; Valsartan, a common heart medication that can also cause cancer)
- Mass disasters or catastrophes, like:
- Airplane crashes (e.g., 1994 USAir crash that killed 37 people and seriously injured 16 people)
- Hydraulic fracturing accidents (e.g., Crimson Resource Management Corp. in California )
- Environmental disasters, like:
- Oil spills (e.g., Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon)
- Wildfires (e.g., PG&E Northern California Wildfire)
- Water contamination (e.g., PG&E chromium-tainted wastewater in Hinkley CA)
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Class Action Lawsuits
Class action refers to one lawsuit with multiple (hundreds, even thousands) victims who qualify as a class. For this one lawsuit covering multiple people, there will only be one verdict, and any money judgment will be split among them. What makes the class action different from the mass tort is the “class” of qualifying victims. Further, this class is represented by a single or a few plaintiffs––so you aren’t a plaintiff but rather a member of a class. If you are part of the class, the court’s decision is binding on you, and you cannot take action on your own against the defendant
Class Action Characteristics
1. Multiple Plaintiffs/One Representative. Class actions can have, as mentioned, thousands of participants/victims. Though there are many “victims,” they are members of a class and are represented by an individual known as a class representative. The class representative acts as the plaintiff for all the victims.
2. One Lawsuit. Though there are tens, hundreds, or thousands of members of the class, there is only one lawsuit representing them all, just as there is only one or a few class representatives who stand in for the entire class.
3. Attorney Representation for All. There is generally only one attorney or law firm representing all class members. You do not retain your own legal counsel.
4. Same Factual & Legal Issues. To be included in a class action, the facts and legal issues must be the same for all members of the Class.
5. Similar Damages. Damages in class action lawsuits must be identical or almost similar in order to qualify for Class membership.
6. Certification. Class actions must be certified. The following criteria must be established for certification:
- The class is so large that it makes it impracticable to have all class members as plaintiffs.
- The same questions of law and fact are shared among everyone eligible for the class.
- The claims shared by the class representative are the same for the class.
- The class representative will safeguard the interests of the class.
7. Opt-Out. If you are contacted by an attorney to join a class action, you have the option to opt-out and find your own attorney. If you opt-out, you cannot benefit from a class action settlement.
8. Settlement Negotiations. As a class member, you do not have a voice in the settlement negotiation process. The attorneys and class representative will negotiate according to what’s best for all.
Class Action Examples
- Defective products that can include things like:
- Johnson & Johnson talcum powder, which can cause Mesothelioma, Ovarian cancer, and other cancers
- Monsanto Roundup weed and grass killer
- Antitrust violations, like:
- 1-800 Contacts
- Data Breaches, like:
- Banner Health
- Equifax
- InterContinental Hotels Groups
Is a Mass Tort or Class Action Lawsuit Better for Personal Injury Claims?
Making you “whole again” or to the extent that’s possible is the intended goal of personal injury law in California. That means you are entitled to full, fair, and just compensation for all your damages. You must keep this in mind when thinking of a mass tort versus class action lawsuit.
Mass torts, or MDLs, are more common in personal injury law because they accommodate for the different injuries and extent of those injuries that each victim may face. We are not alike, and though the cause of our injury may be the same, the actual injury suffered may not.
For example, there are multiple hernia mesh MDLs against several different manufacturers (e.g., Bard, Atrium, and Ethicon, to name a few). The triggering event is the use of their respective hernia mesh products, but some victims may suffer only mild injuries like infection while others suffer organ perforation, sepsis, and––in limited circumstances–– unfortunate and wrongful death. Further, some may suffer chronic pain all their lives while for others, the pain experienced is short-term.
MDLs, on the one hand, allow plaintiffs to reduce costs by sharing the discovery process and allows courts to respond more efficiently and timely since each case doesn’t need to be heard until trial (unless there’s a settlement pre-trial). And, on the other hand, MDLs allow plaintiffs to seek fair and just compensation specific to their individual injuries.
Class actions, as you can see above, seem less attractive in personal injury cases. In fact, the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder class action lawsuit in California was dismissed and moved to a Johnson & Johnson talcum powder MDL located in New Jersey. Now, any class action against Johnson & Johnson and its talcum powder product (as well as several other products) is simply to recover the costs of the product and not the costs associated with a personal injury or death. The same is true of Monsanto Roundup class action––the class action lawsuit is to recover the costs of the product and not for damages like lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. In the meantime, an MDL has recently been established for victims of Roundup who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Retain a Mass Tort Personal Injury Attorney in Los Angeles Today
If you are the victim of a mass tort, to win your case against a big company that has a defective product or faulty service, or otherwise causes injuries by wrongful acts, you need a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles who has experience with multi-district litigation. MDLs, as well as class actions, can be complex, but done right, they can save you money, time, and stress. As stated above, in many of these cases, you can seek just and fair compensation without having to share the settlement funds or jury award.
But first, your situation must qualify as a mass tort or a class action to benefit from the process. Contact us today so that we can help you better understand the strengths and advantages of your case and find a personal injury attorney who will guide you in the right direction.
