How Do I Join an Ongoing Mass Tort Case?

Mass tort cases provide a way for multiple people who have suffered similar injuries to hold the same company accountable. These could be physical injuries, like trauma caused by defective medical implants and other defective products, or they could be other medical conditions such as cancer, vision loss or gastroparesis.

In all cases, there are specific steps that individual plaintiffs need to take to assert their legal rights. Once a mass tort case is already underway, new plaintiffs can join the litigation by hiring an experienced mass tort lawyer to represent them. If you think you may be eligible to join an ongoing mass tort case (or don’t know and want to find out), keep reading to learn more.

Joining an Ongoing Mass Tort Case

Today, most major mass tort cases involve multidistrict litigation. In multidistrict litigation, a single judge presides over hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of similar lawsuits filed across the country.

This means that in order to join an existing mass tort case, you must file a lawsuit of your own. You must file your lawsuit “in the multidistrict litigation”—and there are specific procedures for doing so. In large multidistrict litigation proceedings, judges will often establish specific filing requirements in order to both streamline the process and help ensure that only eligible plaintiffs join the proceedings.

This is one reason—among many—why it is important to have an experienced mass tort lawyer on your side.

Hiring a mass tort lawyer starts with scheduling a free consultation. During your free consultation, your lawyer will:

• Determine If You Have Grounds to File a Lawsuit – Your lawyer will begin by determining if you have grounds to file a lawsuit. Your lawyer may need to gather additional information in order to fully assess your case, so this determination may be only preliminary at this stage. If your lawyer needs additional information, your lawyer will work with you to gather this additional information as efficiently as possible.
• Determine if You Are Eligible to Join an Ongoing Mass Tort Case – If it appears that you have grounds to file a lawsuit, your lawyer will then determine if you are eligible to join an ongoing mass tort case. As discussed above, if you are eligible, there are specific steps your lawyer will need to take that are different from those involved in filing a lawsuit outside of a multidistrict litigation proceeding.
• Help You Make Informed Decisions About Your Next Steps – Filing a lawsuit in any scenario is a big decision, so it is important to make an informed decision about your next steps. Your lawyer will provide personalized advice based on your individual circumstances, and your lawyer will also provide an assessment of how much you may be able to recover. Then, you can use this information to decide whether you are prepared to take legal action.

If you decide to join an existing mass tort case, your lawyer will then proceed with filing a lawsuit on your behalf. What happens from here will depend on the current status of the ongoing multidistrict litigation proceeding.

If the litigation is still in its early stages, it could still be a while until the case is resolved. It is not unusual for these cases to take a year or longer—and they can take several years in some cases. On the other hand, if the litigation is winding up, it is possible that you could see a resolution relatively soon. Many mass tort cases end with out-of-court settlements; and, when defendants agree to settle, individual plaintiffs can generally decide whether they want to participate in the settlement or keep fighting for more.

With that said, there are no guarantees. When joining an ongoing mass tort case, it is important to have reasonable expectations. An experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to help you understand what to expect (and what not to expect). This way, you can feel confident that you are making the best decisions possible under the circumstances at hand.

What If I Have a Claim But I Don’t Qualify to Join a Mass Tort Case?

Let’s say you have grounds to file a lawsuit but you don’t qualify to join an ongoing mass tort case. Maybe other cases haven’t yet been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation proceeding, or maybe your injury is different from the type of injury involved in the ongoing litigation. In this scenario, what can (and should) you do?

Even if you aren’t eligible to join an ongoing mass tort case, you may still be able to take legal action on your own. While some defective product cases get consolidated into multidistrict litigation proceedings, far more plaintiffs pursue their claims independently.

If you don’t qualify to join an ongoing mass tort case, your lawyer can help you decide whether it makes sense to pursue a lawsuit on your own. In many cases, the answer will be a clear, “Yes.” This is because:

• Physical injuries and other medical conditions caused by defective products can lead to significant medical bills—both now and in the future;
• Individuals harmed by defective products can also face lost earnings and other financial losses; and,
• If you have a claim for a defective product, you are entitled to just compensation for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other non-financial losses as well.

In all cases, it is important to make an informed decision before you run out of time. With this in mind, if you need to know more, we strongly recommend scheduling a free consultation promptly.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Mass Tort Lawyer at Searcy Denney

Do you have questions about joining an ongoing mass tort case? If so, our lawyers are available to answer your questions, explain your legal rights and help you make informed decisions about your next steps. To schedule a free consultation with an experienced mass tort lawyer at Searcy Denney, call us at 800-780-8607 or contact us online today.