How Does a Mass Tort Claim Work?

A mass tort lawsuit varies from a typical class action claim. In a mass tort claim, the victims injured due to the company’s negligence may have widely different stories and injuries resulting from their use of that company’s products or services. Most often, mass tort claims involve medical devices.

In a mass tort claim, unlike a class-action lawsuit, one plaintiff does not represent all of the plaintiffs in the claim. Most often, each plaintiff can file a personal injury claim alone, but all plaintiffs get moved together as part of one mass tort claim, usually due to wide-scale injuries. Frequently, those injuries occur, not due to deliberate action on the part of the defendants, but rather due to accidental negligence—a medical device that causes unexpected harm, for example.

A mass tort claim consolidates the claims, but it does not eliminate the individual right that each victim has to compensation. While the claimants may get processed together, each one will have their claim processed on the grounds of his losses. The plaintiffs may have attorneys to fight for fair compensation.

Recovering Compensation in a Mass Tort Claim

In a mass tort claim, you have the same right to compensation as you would in an individual personal injury claim. You may, for example, have the right to recover:

Medical Expenses Related to Injuries Suffered Due to the Plaintiff’s Negligence

Depending on your losses, you may have extensive medical bills related to injuries suffered due to the plaintiff’s negligence. For example, the Biomet Hip design, a metal-on-metal hip design, has led to symptoms of metallosis, or metal poisoning, which can cause significant suffering and the need for long-term medical treatment.

You may have emergency medical expenses if you abruptly noticed a problem that you needed to address, or long-term treatment costs related to your injuries and suffering. For example, you may have had to seek a replacement for an implant, or stay in the hospital while receiving treatment for specific injuries.