Legal Definitions - Mass Tort

A Mass Tort refers to a legal claim where a single act, omission, or product by a defendant causes injury or harm to a large number of people. Unlike a single personal injury lawsuit, a mass tort involves many individual plaintiffs who have suffered similar harm due to the same underlying cause. These individual lawsuits are often grouped together, typically within a federal court system known as multidistrict litigation (MDL), to streamline the legal process, manage discovery, and potentially facilitate settlements.

The key distinction from a class action lawsuit is that in a mass tort, each plaintiff generally retains their individual claim, allowing for compensation tailored to their specific damages, rather than being part of a single, collective claim where all plaintiffs receive similar compensation.

Here are some examples illustrating how a mass tort might arise:

• Defective Medical Device: Imagine a company manufactures and widely distributes a new type of artificial hip implant. After several years, thousands of patients who received this implant begin experiencing severe pain, instability, and require revision surgeries due to a design flaw that causes the device to prematurely loosen or fail.

  How it illustrates a mass tort: This scenario is a mass tort because a single product (the artificial hip implant) from one manufacturer caused similar injuries (pain, failure, need for revision surgery) to a large number of individuals across different locations. Each patient has a unique injury experience and specific damages, making individual lawsuits appropriate, but they are grouped together due to the common defendant and cause of harm.

• Widespread Data Breach: A major financial institution suffers a massive cybersecurity breach, exposing the personal and financial data (such as social security numbers, bank account details, and addresses) of millions of its customers. While the direct financial harm might vary, many customers experience identity theft, fraudulent charges, or significant emotional distress and time spent mitigating the risks.

  How it illustrates a mass tort: This situation qualifies as a mass tort because a single event (the data breach) by one entity (the financial institution) led to similar types of harm (data exposure, risk of identity theft, emotional distress) for a vast number of individuals. Although the specific damages for each customer might differ, their claims arise from the same negligent security failure, making it suitable for consolidated litigation.

• Pharmaceutical Drug with Undisclosed Side Effects: A pharmaceutical company develops and markets a new prescription medication for a common chronic condition. After the drug has been on the market for several years and prescribed to hundreds of thousands of patients, it is discovered that the medication significantly increases the risk of a rare but severe heart condition, a side effect that was not adequately disclosed during the drug's testing or marketing.

  How it illustrates a mass tort: This is a mass tort because a single product (the pharmaceutical drug) from one manufacturer caused similar, severe health issues (the rare heart condition) in a large number of individuals who took the medication. Each patient's medical history and the severity of their condition will vary, but their injuries stem from the same undisclosed risk associated with the drug, leading to a coordinated legal effort against the pharmaceutical company.