Mass tort claims affect hundreds or even thousands of individuals who were harmed by a defective product, medication, medical device, or environmental hazard. These claims are brought as a civil action, as opposed to criminal, by multiple claimants who suffered physical injury, illness, emotional distress, and/or some financial loss. Most mass tort lawsuits stem from some form of negligence on the part of the responsible person or company (the “tortfeasor”) who harmed multiple individuals. To file a lawsuit on behalf of a large group of victims, an experienced lawyer asks the court for permission to file a mass tort action against a common tortfeasor.

The court considers the following when determining whether to give permission to file a mass tort lawsuit:

• How many plaintiffs are involved (the more plaintiffs involved, the more likely the court is to grant a mass tort lawsuit)
• Whether the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs are similar in nature
• The location of the plaintiffs, and whether they are near or far from one another
• Whether the claims are associated with a common cause, such as a defective product or an environmental hazard like an oil spill