Mass tort vs class action: what is the difference?

Short answer: in a class action, one or a few people sue on behalf of a whole group, and everyone in the class shares one result. In a mass tort, every injured person files their own lawsuit and keeps their own claim. The cases are grouped only to share pretrial work, and each person’s recovery reflects their own injury. Broukhim Legal PC, a mass tort law firm in downtown Los Angeles, reviews drug, medical device, product and toxic exposure claims on a contingency fee.

The difference matters because injuries from the same product are rarely the same. Someone who needed surgery after a failed implant has a different claim from someone with a short side effect.

Side by side

How a mass tort moves through the courts

Federal MDLs

When many people file similar product cases in federal courts around the country, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation can send them to one judge for pretrial proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1407. This multidistrict litigation, or MDL, handles shared discovery and expert rulings once instead of hundreds of times. Each case keeps its own identity, and cases that do not resolve can be sent back to their home court for trial.

Examples followed on this site include Ozempic and GLP-1 (MDL 3094), talcum powder (MDL 2738), hair relaxer (MDL 3060) and AFFF firefighting foam (MDL 2873).

California JCCPs

California has its own version. A Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP) brings similar cases filed in different California counties before one judge. The social media harm cases, for example, are coordinated in Los Angeles Superior Court as JCCP 5255.

Bellwether trials

Once discovery is done, the court often tries a small number of representative cases first. These bellwether trials show both sides how juries respond to the evidence, and the results usually shape any settlement program that follows.

Settlement

Most mass torts end in a settlement program. Claims are usually placed in tiers by injury severity, treatment and proof of use, so two people in the same MDL can receive very different amounts. Participation is voluntary, and each client decides whether to accept.

What decides an individual mass tort claim

• Proof of use or exposure: pharmacy records, prescriptions, device lot numbers, work or service history.
• A diagnosed injury that matches what the litigation covers.
• Timing: when the use happened and when the injury appeared.
• Medical records showing treatment, surgery or ongoing care.
• The filing deadline: California generally allows two years from the injury or from when its cause was reasonably discovered. Our guide to California personal injury deadlines explains the discovery rule.

Device claims, such as hernia mesh, Bard PowerPort and Paragard IUD cases, usually turn on revision surgery records. Exposure claims, such as Roundup and paraquat, turn on work history. A product does not need to be recalled for a claim to exist.

Which applies to you?

If you received a notice that you are part of a class, for example over a data breach or an overcharge, that is a class action, and the notice explains your choices. If a drug, implant, product or chemical exposure caused a physical injury, you are usually looking at an individual mass tort claim, and you need a lawyer to file it for you.

Talk to a mass tort lawyer in Los Angeles

Broukhim Legal PC reviews mass tort claims for people across California on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless money is recovered. Attorney Bejan Broukhim is licensed by the State Bar of California (No. 183036), and the office is at 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles. Call (310) 731-4824 or request a free case review, in English or Spanish.