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Mass tort lawsuits let people harmed by the same drug, medical device, consumer product or toxic chemical each bring their own claim against the company that made it.
Direct2Attorney is not a law firm. We review your situation, check whether you meet the current criteria, and connect you with an independent participating law firm. Getting reviewed costs you nothing.
Which product or exposure affected you?
Pick a case to see who qualifies, deadlines and the latest status.
Eligibility
Mass tort eligibility turns on two things: the product or exposure, and a matching diagnosis. These are the factors a participating law firm looks at first.
You took the drug, used the product, had the device implanted, or were exposed to the substance named in the litigation.
You were later diagnosed with a condition that research or the litigation links to that product or exposure.
Your use or exposure and your diagnosis fall within the time windows the litigation and the medical evidence support.
Medical records, prescriptions, receipts or work history that help show your use, your exposure or your diagnosis.
Not sure which product you used, or when?
That is common, especially when the exposure was years ago. Pharmacy records, operative reports and work history usually hold the answer, and a participating firm can request them for you.
This is preliminary screening only. Meeting these guidelines does not mean you have a valid claim. A participating law firm decides on its own whether to take your case. Direct2Attorney cannot judge the legal merits of your case, give legal advice, or file anything for you.
The basics
A tort is a civil wrong that causes someone harm. A mass tort happens when one product or one source of exposure is alleged to have harmed many people in a similar way, such as a drug with a missing warning or an implant that fails too often.
Because thousands of people may file at once, the courts group the cases together so that the shared questions are handled one time instead of thousands of times. Those shared questions are things like what the company knew, when it knew it, and whether the product can cause the injury.
Each person still keeps an individual claim. Your injuries, your medical records and your losses are looked at on their own, and any compensation is decided for you, not split evenly with everyone else.
In federal court, related cases are often sent to one judge as a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decides when to do this and which court gets the cases. Many of the case pages below list an MDL number, such as MDL 3081 for Bard PowerPort claims.
How a mass tort usually moves
People file individual claims
Each injured person, or their family, files a separate lawsuit.
Cases are grouped
Federal cases are often sent to one judge as an MDL; some states group cases in a similar way.
Evidence is shared
Company documents, expert reports and testimony are gathered once for everyone.
Test trials are held
A few cases, called bellwethers, go to trial first to show how juries see the evidence.
Settlement or trial
Cases may settle, go to trial, or be returned to their home courts.
| Mass tort | Class action | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in it | People who each file their own claim | One group, led by a few named plaintiffs |
| How harm is measured | Person by person, from your own records | Usually treated the same for the whole group |
| What you receive | An individual outcome based on your injuries | A share of one group result |
| Typical cases | Drugs, medical devices, toxic chemicals | Small, similar losses spread across many people |
This is a general explanation. How a specific litigation is organized depends on the court and the case.
Active cases
Each case below has its own guide with the current state of the litigation, who can file, the deadlines and what a claim can cover. Pick the one that matches your situation.
Mass Tort
Preliminary screening only. Listing a case here does not mean you have a valid claim. Eligibility depends on your facts, your state and filing deadlines, and a participating law firm makes the final decision.
Case status
Mass torts move at different speeds. Some are just starting, some are in test trials, and some are settling while new claims are still reviewed. These are recent turning points across the cases we review.
Ignore one-size-fits-all payout figures
Every litigation is different, and one verdict or settlement does not set the value of anyone else’s claim. Each case page explains the current status in detail.
The Eaton Fire
Residents affected by the Eaton Fire and other utility-linked wildfires may bring property, business, injury and wrongful death claims.
Depo-Provera label warning
The FDA added a meningioma warning to the Depo-Provera label.
Dupixent cases centralized
Federal Dupixent cases were centralized in New Jersey.
Supreme Court ruling on Roundup
The U.S. Supreme Court held that federal pesticide law preempts state failure-to-warn claims, so Roundup eligibility is now narrow and highly fact-specific.
Chlorpyrifos filings begin
Claims over the insecticide sold as Lorsban and Dursban began to be filed.
Tylenol cases revived
A federal appeals court revived more than 500 previously dismissed Tylenol autism cases and sent the litigation back for further proceedings.
Settlements and new claims side by side
A paraquat settlement framework is being run while new claims are still reviewed. Several Zantac manufacturers have settled, but courts have dismissed large batches of claims, so eligibility varies sharply by state.
What these cases are about
Almost every active mass tort falls into one of these groups. The proof a claim needs differs a little for each one.
Claims that a drug caused a serious illness and the label did not warn about it.
Claims that an implant was badly designed or failed early, often leading to more surgery.
Everyday products alleged to have caused cancer or other harm after regular use.
Exposure at work, on a farm, or through water, air, smoke or soil.
The diagnosis may come years later
Many mass tort injuries appear long after the use or exposure, sometimes decades later with asbestos. A late diagnosis does not by itself rule out a claim.
What holds people back, and what is true
These are the reasons people most often give for not asking. Most of them are based on a misunderstanding.
What holds people back
People hear about huge numbers of filings and assume no one will look at their own story.
What is true
Cases are grouped to save time on shared questions, but each person keeps an individual claim and an individual compensation outcome, unlike a class action.
What holds people back
News of a settlement can sound like the end of the road.
What is true
In some litigations, such as paraquat, a settlement framework is being run while new claims are still reviewed. Every case is different, which is why each one has its own page.
What holds people back
Gathering old prescriptions or work records feels like too big a job.
What is true
You do not need everything gathered before a free review. A participating firm can request medical, pharmacy and employment records for you.
What holds people back
People expect a bill just for asking a question.
What is true
Participating firms handling mass torts typically work on contingency, so legal fees are generally paid only if there is a recovery.
Quick self-check
If you can say yes to most of these, it is worth asking for a free review.
Did you use one of the products listed above, or were you exposed to one of the substances?
Were you later diagnosed with a serious condition, or did you need surgery or a hospital stay?
Did the diagnosis come after the use or exposure, within the last several years or the time the case covers?
Do you have, or could you get, records such as prescriptions, receipts, medical files or work history?
Requirements
You do not need any of this to start. A participating firm helps collect it. But every claim is built on these four things.
Use or exposure
Records that show the product, drug or substance.
A diagnosis
A doctor’s diagnosis of the injury named in the case.
A link between them
Timing and evidence that tie the injury to the product.
Filed in time
Each state and litigation sets its own deadline.
Compensation
If a claim succeeds, compensation is meant to cover what the injury cost you in money, in work and in daily life.
No one can tell you what your claim is worth before reviewing your records, and no one can promise you will recover anything. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Fees, costs and liens come out of any recovery.
How your case moves
You do not need to follow court dockets or know legal terms. Our role ends at the match.
Tell us which product or exposure applies and your diagnosis. It takes about two minutes by form or phone.
We check your facts against the current criteria for that litigation with our 24/7 team.
If you qualify, an independent participating law firm handling that mass tort reviews your case and, if it agrees, takes it forward.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Step 1 takes about two minutes.
Filing deadlines
Filing deadlines, called statutes of limitations, vary by state and by litigation, and they can be shorter than people expect. That is why timing is one of the first things a participating firm checks.
The deadline depends on the state, the type of claim and the product. Two people with the same injury can face different deadlines.
In many states the clock starts when you learned, or should have learned, that the product may have caused your injury, not when you first used it.
If a loved one died, a wrongful death deadline usually runs from the date of death and can differ from injury deadlines.
Some states also set an outer limit for product claims, and some settlement programs set their own sign-up cutoffs.
This is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a calculation of your deadline. Only an attorney licensed in your state can tell you which deadline applies to you. If a deadline passes, a claim is usually barred for good, so it is best not to wait to start a review.
Not sure if you are still in time?
A free review checks the deadline for your state and your litigation. It costs nothing to ask.
Fees
A case review is free to you. Participating law firms handling mass torts typically work on contingency, which means legal fees are generally paid only if there is a recovery.
What that covers
What to ask about
Fee terms are set by the law firm you sign with, not by Direct2Attorney, and vary between firms and states. Ask the firm to confirm its fee terms in writing before you sign.
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What Direct2Attorney is
A legal marketing and referral service. We check whether your situation matches what participating law firms are looking for, and connect you with one of them if it does.
What Direct2Attorney is not
We are not a law firm. We cannot give you legal advice, represent you, or file anything on your behalf. Only a law firm you sign with can do that.
Firms are reviewing new mass tort claims
If a drug, device, product or chemical may have caused your diagnosis, find out where you stand. You do not need every record, and you do not need to know the legal terms. Deadlines are already running.
What happens after you ask
We check your answers
Usually the same business day
A participating firm may call you
At the time you choose
You decide what comes next
No cost and no obligation, ever
Questions
Still have a question? Ask it on the call. The review is free, and there is no obligation.
Start my free review →A mass tort claim generally requires that you used a specific product, took a specific drug, or were exposed to a specific substance named in the litigation, and were later diagnosed with a condition that research or the litigation links to that exposure, within the relevant time window.
No. A free case review is free to you. Participating law firms handling mass torts typically work on a contingency basis, meaning legal fees are generally paid only if there is a recovery. Ask the firm to confirm its fee terms in writing.
Filing deadlines (statutes of limitations) vary by state and by litigation, and they can be shorter than people expect. That is why timing is one of the first things a participating firm checks — it is best not to wait to start a review.
Mass tort cases are grouped for efficiency because many people were harmed by the same product or exposure, but each person keeps an individual claim and an individual compensation outcome, unlike a class action.
It helps to have any medical records, prescriptions, diagnosis dates, receipts, or employment history that show your use, exposure, and diagnosis, though you do not need everything gathered before starting a free review.
MDL stands for multidistrict litigation. When many similar federal lawsuits are filed in different parts of the country, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation can send them to one judge for the pretrial stage. Evidence is gathered once for everyone, a few test trials may be held, and each person’s claim stays separate.
Often, yes. A spouse, child or estate representative may be able to bring a wrongful death claim if the product or exposure is linked to the death. These deadlines usually run from the date of death, so it is worth asking early.
Official resources
