Injured By a Dangerous Product? You Might Not Be Alone

Product-related injuries are alarmingly common. Often, these injuries result from defects that affect large numbers of products—in some cases, hundreds of thousands or millions of products sold across the country. As a result, if you have been injured by a dangerous product, you might not be alone, and you might be able to hire a mass tort lawyer to help you seek just compensation.

Mass Tort Claims Involve Large Numbers of Similar Product-Related Injuries

While there are a variety of types of mass tort claims, many of these claims involve large numbers of similar product-related injuries. Generally speaking, product-related mass tort claims have two things in common:

• The Same (or Similar) Products – Mass tort claims can involve either a single product or multiple products from the same product line. For example, there are active mass tort cases involving both single products (i.e., Depo-Provera birth control) and multiple products from the same manufacturer (i.e., OneWheel, OneWheel+, OneWheel GT, OneWheel Pint and OneWheel PintX electric skateboards). Mass tort claims can also involve similar products sold by multiple companies (i.e., the ongoing GLP-1 weight loss drug mass tort litigation against Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and other companies).
• The Same (or Similar) Injuries – Mass tort claims can involve either the same or similar injuries. For example, the Depo-Provera mass tort litigation involves claims related to various types of meningiomas, while the OneWheel mass tort litigation involves traumatic accident-related injuries. Mass tort claims can also involve multiple different types of injuries related to the same product—such as the GLP-1 weight loss drug mass tort litigation, which primarily involves claims related to gastroparesis and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Mass tort cases arising out of product-related injuries and illnesses typically involve allegations that the product in question is (or was) defective. A product does not have to be subject to a recall in order to justify legal action—in many cases, recalls only come after victims and families take legal action. A defect claim can relate to an issue with the product itself (i.e., a design or manufacturing defect), or it can relate to the manufacturer’s failure to provide adequate warnings about the risks associated with the product’s use. These “failure to warn” claims have become increasingly common in recent years.

Examples of Products Involved in Recent and Ongoing Mass Tort Cases

Essentially, all products have the potential to be defective in one way or another. The following types of products (among many others) have all been the subject of mass tort litigation in recent years:

• Baby formula
• Children’s toys, clothing and furniture
• Consumer electronics (i.e., electric skateboards and hoverboards)
• Earplugs
• Hair care products
• Herbicides and pesticides
• Hernia mesh
• Other consumer products (i.e., cookware and cleaning solvents)
• Prescription and over-the-counter medications
• Surgical implants (i.e., hip and shoulder implants)

Again, these are just examples. Additionally, while many products have been the subject of mass tort lawsuits in recent years, these are just a tiny fraction of the products that have the potential to cause serious, life-altering or even life-threatening injuries or illnesses.  

How a Mass Tort Lawyer Can Help You In This Scenario

With this in mind, if you have been diagnosed with an injury, cancer or any other medical condition linked to a potentially dangerous product, it will be worth talking to a mass tort lawyer about your legal rights. Among other things, an experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to:

• Determine if You Have Grounds to Take Legal Action – An experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to determine if you have grounds to take legal action. Depending on the nature of your injury or illness (and whether there are already similar lawsuits pending), this may be a relatively straightforward process, or it may require a comprehensive investigation.
• Explain Whether You Are Eligible to Join an Existing Mass Tort Case – As we said above, if you are dealing with a product-related injury or illness, you might not be alone. If you are eligible to join an existing mass tort case, this could potentially help speed up the process of seeking just compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses.
• Explain the Differences Between Mass Tort and Class Action Lawsuits – While joining a class action lawsuit may be an option in some cases, this also may not be your best option if you are dealing with a serious product-related injury or illness. An experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to explain the differences between mass tort and class action lawsuits so that you can feel confident you are pursuing the right course of action.
• Calculate the Damages You Are Entitled to Recover – Another key step toward pursuing the right course of action is understanding how much you are entitled to recover. An experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to thoroughly examine the financial and non-financial consequences of your diagnosis and provide a custom-tailored assessment of the value of your claim.
• Help You Decide Whether to File a Claim – Ultimately, your lawyer will be able to help you make an informed decision about whether to file a claim. From explaining whether you are eligible to join an existing mass tort case to explaining how much you are entitled to recover, your lawyer will be able to provide all of the information you need to decide whether you are prepared to move forward.

Mass tort lawyers represent their clients on a contingency-fee basis. This means their clients pay nothing unless they win. If you receive a settlement or verdict in a mass tort case, your legal fees will be deducted from the amount your lawyer helps you recover.

Do You Have a Claim? Find Out from a Mass Tort Lawyer at Searcy Denney

Are you dealing with a product-related injury or illness? Would you like to know more about your legal options? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To speak with an experienced mass tort lawyer at Searcy Denney for free, call 800-780-8607 or tell us how we can help online today.