Mass Tort Litigation — No Win No Fee
Mass tort litigation involves large numbers of individual plaintiffs who have been harmed by the same product, drug, or corporate conduct. These cases are nearly always handled on a contingency fee basis, with attorneys advancing substantial litigation costs.
What Is a Mass Tort?
Direct Answer: A mass tort is a civil action where many individuals are injured by the same product, substance, or corporate conduct. Cases are often consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL). Mass tort attorneys work on contingency fees of 33⅓%–40%, advancing all costs.
A mass tort arises when a large number of people are injured by the same product, substance, or corporate conduct. Unlike a class action — where one lawsuit represents all plaintiffs collectively — each mass tort plaintiff files an individual case. These cases are often consolidated through multidistrict litigation (MDL) for efficiency, but each plaintiff retains their own claim and must prove their individual damages.
How MDL Works
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) can transfer cases with common factual questions to a single federal district court for coordinated pretrial proceedings. The transferee judge manages discovery, resolves common motions, and may conduct bellwether trials. If cases do not settle, they may be remanded to their original courts for individual trials.
Notable Mass Tort Litigation
- Talcum powder — allegations that Johnson & Johnson talc products contained asbestos and caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma
- Roundup (glyphosate) — claims that Bayer/Monsanto's herbicide causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Camp Lejeune water contamination — claims under the PACT Act for toxic water exposure at the Marine Corps base
- 3M Combat Arms earplugs — one of the largest MDLs in history involving defective military earplugs
- Opioid litigation — claims against manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies for fueling the opioid crisis
- PFAS (forever chemicals) — environmental contamination claims for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
Contingency Fees in Mass Torts
Mass tort attorneys work on contingency, typically charging 33⅓% to 40% of the individual client's recovery. Because these cases require significant resources — expert witnesses, scientific studies, document review — firms may invest millions before any recovery. Some firms specialise exclusively in mass tort litigation.