2012-05-24T14:56:57Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/mass-torts.html http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR774.html Dec 2, 2009 Dec 2, 2009

<p>Silica inhalation injury claims skyrocketed beginning in 2001, prompting concerns that silicia litigation would become a mass tort. It instead collapsed following the uncovering of abusive diagnostic practices, which can be decreased or even prevented if changes in several areas of litigation procedures are pursued.</p>

http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20090334.html Dec 31, 2008 Dec 31, 2008

<p>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.</p>

http://www.rand.org/news/press/2007/04/04.html Apr 4, 2007 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.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9249.html Mar 13, 2007 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.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG162.html May 10, 2005 May 10, 2005

<p>Claims for asbestos injuries have risen sharply since the 1990s and total more than 730,000 through 2002. At least 8,400 defendants have paid more than $70 billion on the litigation, 42 percent of which has gone to claimants.</p>

http://www.rand.org/news/press/2005/05/10.html May 9, 2005 May 9, 2005

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

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP114.html Dec 31, 2003 Dec 31, 2003

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

http://www.rand.org/pubs/documented_briefings/DB397.html Dec 31, 2001 Dec 31, 2001

<p>The number of asbestos claims filed annually, the number and types of firms named as defendants in asbestos litigation, and the costs of the litigation to those defendants have all risen sharply in recent years. Given these trends, the authors examine the dimensions of asbestos litigation: How many claims have been filed? By whom? Against whom? For what kinds of conditions? At what cost and with what economic effects? And, if current trends continue, what will be the future costs of the litigation?</p>

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP979.html Dec 31, 2001 Dec 31, 2001

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.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/documented_briefings/DB362z0.html Dec 31, 2000 Dec 31, 2000

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

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP951.html Dec 31, 2000 Dec 31, 2000

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

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR969.html Dec 31, 1999 Dec 31, 1999

Class action lawsuits -- allowing one or a few plaintiffs to represent many who seek redress -- have long been controversial.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR969z1.html Jan 1, 1999 Jan 1, 1999

Class action lawsuits-allowing one or a few plaintiffs to represent many who seek redress-have long been controversial.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP584.html Dec 31, 1995 Dec 31, 1995

Individuals within the aggregate : relationships, representation, and fees

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP446.html Dec 31, 1994 Dec 31, 1994

A glass half full, a glass half empty : the use of alternative dispute resolution in mass personal injury litigation

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP311.html Dec 31, 1993 Dec 31, 1993

The civil justice system has not responded well to the challenge of handling mass torts, and many innovations have been proposed to improve processing of these cases.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P7631.html Dec 31, 1988 Dec 31, 1988

Since the early 1980s, thinking about mass toxic torts has changed dramatically, and a consensus has emerged calling for substantial modifications in traditional court processes to improve the efficiency and equity of the mass claims resolution proce...

http://www.rand.org/pubs/notes/N2805.html Dec 31, 1987 Dec 31, 1987

Presents the Institute for Civil Justice's (ICJ) agenda for a program of research on mass tort litigation, and the results of ICJ work to date.

http://www.rand.org/about/people/c/caston_lauren.html

<em>Adjunct</em><br>Ph.D. in mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles; B.A. in mathematics, University of California, Berkeley

http://www.rand.org/about/people/g/garber_steven.html

<em>Senior Economist</em><br>Ph.D. and M.S. in economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison; B.A. in economics, University of Connecticut