Mass Disaster Mass torts are
a single wrong done to a number of individuals. Mass torts can be used to
describe a mass accident such as a plane crash or train accident, or describe
personal injuries happening on a widespread basis. In the case of wrongful death,
mass torts usually refer to multiple deaths happening because of a single
accident. Examples of this include plane crashes, toxic spills, or train
accidents. Because of the large amount of people involved in mass tort
litigation, it is critical that you have an experienced attorney working for you,
so your individual needs are fulfilled. Mass torts have the ability to develop
into class action lawsuits and what you want may be lost in the fray if you do
not have an experienced mass tort attorney fighting for your rights. The party
responsible for the accident is also quick to find reasons why they should not
be held responsible because of the potential of having to pay so many people.
Without an experienced mass tort attorney, you may find it more difficult to
deal with situations like these.
A "mass accident" resulting in injuries to numerous persons is ordinarily not
appropriate for a class action because of the likelihood that significant
questions, not only of damages but of liability and defenses of liability, would
be present, affecting the individuals in different ways. In these circumstances
an action conducted nominally as a class action would degenerate in practice
into multiple lawsuits separately tried.
Preliminarily, it is important to define the term "mass tort." At its broadest,
the term can apply to any multi-party lawsuit involving tort claims. In general,
the term is used to describe either (i) a mass accident (a single event, such as
an airplane crash, involving injuries to many people) or (ii) personal injuries
on a widespread basis, typically involving allegedly defective products (such as
breast implants or other medical devices). Mass tort cases may also involve
widespread damage to property or other economic loss. In explaining the
differences between these kinds of cases, the Manual for Complex Litigation (3d)
notes: "In mass disaster litigation, the injuries occur at a single site and
usually manifest themselves immediately; in mass toxic tort or defective product
litigation injuries may occur in numerous widely dispersed locations, at
different times, and their full effect may remain hidden for years."
An important inquiry that courts have utilized in evaluating the appropriateness
of certifying a mass tort case is whether the case involves a "mature" tort or
an "immature" tort. Courts in recent years ave been particularly reluctant to
certify immature tort cases-those in which there have been few individual trials
and verdicts. As the Manual for Complex Litigation (3d) explains, "[f]airness
may demand that mass torts with few prior verdicts or judgments be litigated
first in smaller units-even single-plaintiff, single-defendant trials-until
general causation, typical injuries, and levels of damages become established."
The Manual identifies litigation as mature when discovery is completed and the
plaintiffs claims have been shown to have merit through verdicts by members of
the purported class. The Manual identifies asbestos litigation and the Dalkon
Shield litigation as examples of "mature" mass torts.
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who is familiar with all the facts and circumstances of a particular, specific
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