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Mass Torts

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Designing Compensation Funds After Disasters

Man-made and natural disasters in the United States can cause personal injury and property damage to dozens, and sometimes even thousands, of people. Sometimes victim compensation programs are created afterwards. Program designers must consider fairness to victims, timely compensation, and low transaction costs.

Jul 6, 2016
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Economic Effects of Product Liability and Other Litigation Involving the Safety and Effectiveness of Pharmaceuticals

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.

Feb 19, 2013
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The Abuse of Medical Diagnostic Practices in Mass Litigation: The Case of Silica

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.

Nov 13, 2009
Journal Article

Journal Article

Group and Aggregate Litigation in the United States

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.

Jan 1, 2009
News Release

News Release

RAND Study Finds Class Actions Against Insurers Rose Prior to Recent Reforms and Many Cases Occurred Outside Public View

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

Apr 4, 2007
Research Brief

Research Brief

Anatomy of an Insurance Class Action

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.

Mar 13, 2007
News Release

News Release

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

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
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Asbestos-Related Claims Exceed 730,000, Cost More than $70 Billion

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.

May 9, 2005
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Fashioning a National Resolution of Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation: A Reply to Professor Brickman

In this paper, reprinted from Cardozo Law Review, the author responds to Professor Brickman's analysis of the asbestos litigation problem, as well as to his proposal for a national administrative solution to the problem.

Jan 1, 2004
Report

Report

Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report

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

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

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.

Jan 1, 2002
Report

Report

Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.: A New Look at an Old Issue

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

Jan 1, 2001
Report

Report

Beyond "It Just Ain't Worth It": Alternative Strategies for Damage Class Action Reform

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

Jan 1, 2001
Report

Report

Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain

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

Jan 1, 2000
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Report

Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain, Executive Summary

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

Jan 1, 1999
Report

Report

Individuals within the aggregate : relationships, representation, and fees

Individuals within the aggregate : relationships, representation, and fees

Jan 1, 1996
Report

Report

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

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

Jan 1, 1995
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Report

Understanding Mass Personal Injury Litigation: A Socio-Legal Analysis

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.

Jan 1, 1994
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Report

Resolving mass toxic torts: myths and realities

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...

Jan 1, 1989
Report

Report

Resolution of Mass Torts: Toward a Framework for Evaluation of Aggregative Procedures

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.

Jan 1, 1988

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