When a larger institution makes a mistake, the consequences tend to be widespread. You and hundreds of other people may face a gauntlet of physical and financial challenges due to a corporation’s negligence. You and other impacted parties have more in common than your injuries, though.
New York state also gives all of you the right to legal action. Our mass torts lawyers in New York at Morelli Law Firm are here to guide you through the legal process. Together, we can determine the extent of your losses and to what compensation you may be entitled.
Breaking Down a New York Mass Torts
Let’s break down the term “mass torts.” “Tort” here describes the actions that allegedly caused you harm. A tort can be a chemical leak, a structural failure in a building, or another form of negligence resulting in personal injury.
“Mass” refers to the number of people impacted by the aforementioned tort. You’ll only have a mass tort on your hands if you and several other people suffered personal injuries or losses as a result of the initial tort.
Mass torts, then, describe accidents spurred by negligence resulting in the harm of several people. A New York, NY, mass torts lawyer subsequently represents a group of people who individually pursue legal compensation for their losses while sharing a pool of evidence.
Mass Torts, Class Action, and MDLs: Oh, My!
It can be difficult to distinguish between mass torts, class action lawsuits, and multidistrict litigation (MDLs).
Class action lawsuits and multidistrict litigation differ in terms of their approach to personal injury cases. Class action suits allow you to pursue compensation with other injured plaintiffs. All of you will work together and subsequently divide any compensation you may win.
MDLs let courts better organize individual claims targeting a single liable party. When you file a mass tort claim, courts will collect your individual complaints under an MDL. In response, you and your peers can use the same resources to fight your battles while pursuing compensation on an individualized basis.
Your Mass Tort Filing Options
If you want to work together with other people injured by a mass tort, you have the right to do so. You and your peers can bring your mass tort claim forward as a class action mass tort lawsuit. You’ll need to elect a primary plaintiff to attach their name to the case, but you can all collaborate while gathering evidence to support your liability claim.
Under normal circumstances, though, your mass tort case will cover your injury-related losses and no one else’s. This is the case even if other injured plaintiffs file similar cases at the same time as yours. You can check in with your New York, NY, mass torts attorney to learn more about how your case interacts with other active ones.
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Requesting Compensation in Mass Torts
Mass torts mirror personal injury cases in terms of what kind of damage they can do to you and your loved ones. As a result, the compensation you can request can be based on similar losses. You may have the right to request both economic and non-economic damages in your claim. You must, however, prove that you endured those losses at the hands of a liable party.
Mass tort economic damages can include the expenses tied up in your injury care. For example, a mass tort involving an explosion can list burn repair, mobility treatments, and upcoming surgeries among a plaintiff’s desired compensation. You can also request compensation for lost wages, lost opportunities for employment, and property damage related to your accident.
Non-economic mass tort damages cover any trauma you may have suffered due to your accident. In the explosion example, a plaintiff could request compensation for pain and suffering or PTSD. To calculate non-economic damage, you can refer to previous cases filed throughout New York to establish an economic precedent.
Your Mass Tort Statute of Limitations
The term “mass torts” operates as an umbrella for a wider swath of personal injuries. Your case can then share a statute of limitations with New York’s other personal injury suits. Unless your case is particularly unique, you’ll have three years to submit your paperwork to a county clerk. New York clarifies this deadline in New York Civil Practice Law & Rules § 214.
That said, a mass torts attorney in New York can lend some flexibility to medical malpractice and dangerous drug mass torts.
New York’s medical malpractice statute of limitations gives you from the day you discover your condition to bring a complaint forward. If a defective drug or device isn’t discovered until years after you’ve used it, you may still have the right to pursue compensation.
Attorneys Guide You Through the Mass Tort Process
It’s not always easy to break down the logistics of a mass tort claim. Instead of trying to file a mass tort claim on your own, turn to our team. Our attorneys can spell out the details of your case. We can also help you decide which approach – class action or MDL – will better help you fight for the compensation you deserve.
Our services aren’t confined to your initial case consultation, though. Throughout the legal process, you can count on the Morelli Law Firm team to:
- Communicate with liable parties on your behalf
- Communicate with judicial figures
- Maintain your case’s organization
- Call on witnesses and search for new evidence of your losses
- Arrange negotiations, as applicable
Discuss a Mass Tort With Morelli Law Firm
If you’ve never looked into a mass tort before, you may not know whether or not your circumstances qualify you for this kind of legal action. Fortunately, New York, NY, mass torts attorneys can help assess your losses, categorize your case, and bring your damages to the attention of a judge.
Sit down with a Morelli Law Firm representative to learn more about your ability to pursue a mass tort. Call or reach out online today to schedule your case evaluation.