Mass Tort
Large numbers of personal injury claims arising from a common product, exposure, or event.
Pharmaceuticals, medical devices, environmental exposures, and defective products generate claim populations that share general causation and defect questions while differing on individual exposure, injury, and damages. That mix of common and individual issues is why mass torts are typically consolidated for pretrial purposes rather than certified as classes.
See also
- Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)Federal consolidation of related civil actions before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.
- PredominanceThe Rule 23(b)(3) requirement that common questions predominate over individual ones.
- General CausationWhether the substance or product is capable of causing the injury alleged.
- Bellwether TrialA representative case tried to verdict to inform valuation of the wider inventory.
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