Mass Torts

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Research conducted by: RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment; RAND Institute for Civil Justice

All Items (22)

Report

Economic Effects of Product Liability and Other Litigation Involving the Safety and Effectiveness of Pharmaceuticals — Feb 19, 2013

Opponents of product liability claim that liability reduces product availability, increases prices, and discourages innovation. Supporters claim that liability uncovers information about drug hazards and deters socially undesirable corporate behavior.

Report

The Abuse of Medical Diagnostic Practices in Mass Litigation: The Case of Silica — Nov 13, 2009

This report reviews the court proceedings that led to the uncovering of abusive diagnostic practices in silica litigation, then identifies ways in which similar practices could be uncovered or prevented in the future.

Journal Article

Group and Aggregate Litigation in the United States — Jan 1, 2009

While a class action such as one brought under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23 is certainly the most well-known mechanism for aggregating large numbers of similar claims, other approaches include mass joinder of parties, mass consolidation of separate cases, or multidistrict litigation transfer of federal cases from across the country into a single action for pretrial processing; corporate reorganizations under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; large-scale inventories of clients controlled by a single attorney; government-initiated enforcement actions; and private attorneys general litigation brought on behalf of the general public.

News Release

RAND Study Finds Class Actions Against Insurers Rose Prior to Recent Reforms and Many Cases Occurred Outside Public View — Apr 4, 2007

April 4, 2007 news release: RAND Study Finds Class Actions Against Insurers Rose Prior to Recent Reforms and Many Cases Occurred Outside Public View.

Research Brief

Anatomy of an Insurance Class Action — Mar 13, 2007

This research brief describes characteristics of more than 700 class action cases against large U.S. insurers -- trends in claims, their allegations, and their outcomes -- including the vast majority of cases that never become certified as a class.

News Release

RAND Study Finds More Than 730,000 People Have Filed Asbestos Injury Claims in U.S., Costing Defendants More Than $70 Billion — May 10, 2005

RAND Study Finds More Than 730,000 People Have Filed Asbestos Injury Claims in U.S., Costing Defendants More Than $70 Billion

Report

Asbestos Litigation — May 9, 2005

Presents the most comprehensive description to date of the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.

Journal Article

Fashioning a National Resolution of Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation: A Reply to Professor Brickman — Jan 1, 2004

Fashioning a National Resolution of Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation: A Reply to Professor Brickman

Report

Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report — Jan 1, 2002

Examines the dimensions of current asbestos litigation and the potential future effects of the litigation on the U.S. economy

Journal Article

Revisiting the Monster: New Myths and Realities of Class Action and Other Large Scale Litigation — Jan 1, 2002

She extends her consideration of mass tort litigation to include what she terms "the new social policy torts": suits against tobacco companies, firearms manufacturers, and managed care organizations that are intended to change public policy.

Report

Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.: A New Look at an Old Issue — Jan 1, 2001

This briefing documents the first phase of a new study on asbestos litigation, now the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.

Journal Article

Beyond "It Just Ain't Worth It": Alternative Strategies for Damage Class Action Reform — Jan 1, 2001

In this article, the authors explore alternative strategies for class-action reform aimed at improving the cost-benefit ratio of damage class actions.

People

Lauren Caston

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Ph.D. in mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles; B.A. in mathematics, University of California, Berkeley

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Steven Garber

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Steven Garber is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation and an associate editor of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

Nicholas M. Pace

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Nicholas M. Pace

Nicholas M. Pace is a social scientist at the RAND Corporation. He has contributed his expertise in civil justice–related research methodology to many projects for the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, including a recent study he led that explored issues associated with class actions…

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