A major portion of personal injury litigation (including pharmaceuticals and defective products) today is known as mass torts (or class action litigation), meaning that many claims or suits are brought arising out of the same product or same disaster. Examples from our involvement are:

• Drugs, such as fen phen, PPA and Vioxx
• Dietary supplements, including Ephedra
• Medical devices, such as defibrillators and hip replacements
• Toxic substances, such as lead in paint, asbestos
• Disasters, such as aviation accidents, hotel fires and toxic spills

In mass tort work, one firm may handle many of the victims, as we frequently do. This cuts down significantly on costs since the expenses of investigation and preparation are spread among the many cases. Also, almost invariably there is a network of attorneys sharing information and jointly handling the legal proceedings against the defendant in the case.

These mass tort cases are typically congregated in some fashion. One method is the use of class action, where a few named plaintiffs sue on behalf of all those injured. A class action is not necessarily the best way to organize litigation and spread costs, and therefore our firm is involved in many other means of congregation. The term "class action" is sometimes loosely used for any sort of mass tort proceeding, but to lawyers it means a very specific procedure known as Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

If you are currently looking for representation as an individual or as being part of a class action, you may contact our firm without cost to learn about your legal options.