A civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or more defendants in either state or federal court, mass tort litigation lawsuits usually arise when a defendant or defendants cause harm to multiple plaintiffs via prescribed medication, medical devices, other defective products, or from pollution and other contaminants, for example. An attorney that practices in the areas of class actions and mass tort litigation, Colorado-based attorney Kelly Hyman explains more about the process.
“Mass tort litigation allows an attorney or a group of attorney to represent several parties in otherwise individual cases,” explains Hyman, an attorney in the field of mass tort litigation. “Sometimes the process may even extend to a nationwide network of lawyers across the United States, all of whom can pool resources, ideas, and information in order to ensure justice for all involved,” she adds.
The four main categories of mass tort litigation, according to Hyman, cover medical device injuries, prescription drug injuries, product liability injuries, and toxic contamination. “In federal courts in the United States, mass tort lawsuits are often consolidated as multidistrict litigation,” she explains.
Pharmaceutical mass torts, also known as dangerous drug mass torts, are currently the most common type of mass tort in the United States, with more than 1,000 cases filed each year across the nation, according to reports. In recent years, pharmaceutical mass torts have been brought against companies including Reglan, Risperdal, Invokana, Eliquis, and Pradaxa.
“It should be noted,” Hyman explains, “that mass tort litigation routinely involves massive cost, and often relies closely on a level of efficiency and an economy of scale largely unique to the process in law.”
“Requiring a huge effort from legal assistants, paralegals, and junior associates, for example, to handle and manage such a case—and the volume of paperwork which often comes with mass tort litigation—anyone looking seriously into the process would be advised to seek the advice of a specialist legal professional in the first instance,” she adds, wrapping up.
A graduate of UCLA and the University of Florida College of Law, Kelly Hyman is an attorney at Denver, Colorado-based Franklin D. Azar & Associates focused on class actions and mass tort litigation. A staunch advocate for social justice and women’s rights whose other interests include the law, current events, voting rights, female empowerment, and mindfulness, she is happily married to federal judge Paul G. Hyman, Jr.
