Mass Tort & Class Actions

Mass tort attorneys and class action attorneys are skilled in class action law and related details so that people who have been hurt by a common cause can seek justice as a larger group. Individual cases are often filed in personal injury matters, but mass tort litigation and class action litigation bring together these individual cases for efficiency. This benefits both the injured parties as well as the court system.

Mass Tort & Class Action Lawsuits

Mass tort cases involve situations where multiple people have been injured, but their injuries differ in severity and scope. For example, our mass tort lawyers represented some of the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in October 2017. In this situation, there was a common source and place of injuries, but the level of harm varied from person to person: some were shot and survived with different medical needs and treatments, some continue to be tormented by post-traumatic stress disorder, and some lost their lives.

Creating a mass tort allows for lawyers and defendants to communicate more effectively on the discovery of information, for example, but ultimately allows each person or family to be compensated based on their individual injury.

Class action cases on the other hand are those where there was one source of harm and those injured suffered in relatively the same way. One example is our class action lawsuit against Commonwealth Edison following the utility’s admission of bribery attempts of state officials in Illinois. The lawsuit claims that the bribery led to laws that overcharged every Illinois consumer and business and that those harmed should all be compensated for paying too much for electricity.

How Mass Tort and Class Action Cases Work

There is a wide range of causes for mass tort lawsuits and class action lawsuits. Injuries or death may result from defective products, business practices, securities fraud, or civil rights violations that break federal law or violate Constitutional rights. Additionally, we see product liability cases ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to aircraft. Cases may even involve the most personal of injury cases, sexual assault and sexual abuse if many people have been victimized by one person or while under the care of the same organization.

Large group cases may be filed in state or federal court, or can even make their way to the Supreme Court before justice is delivered. Some cases can be multidistrict litigation if the injuries took place in various locations.

Members of the class may be anyone else who has suffered a personal injury or wrongful death and various claimants may have different law firms representing them. One lawsuit will be filed on behalf of a lead plaintiff who will represent the larger group, and the Court will approve a class certification under class action law. The Court will assess the group of law firms involved and appoint a lead counsel to best manage the process for the group. Romanucci & Blandin is proud to be named lead counsel in the Sterigencs and Beach Park environmental cases, and co-lead counsel in the class action lawsuit against Commonwealth Edison related to its attempted bribery of government officials. We are also members of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, a group of law firms that manage the litigation, for the Boeing 737 Max crash of Ethiopia Airlines flight 302.

Mass Tort Attorneys and Class Action Attorneys

The mass tort and class action attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin know how to navigate these complex cases and bring justice to victims, and sometimes settle these cases without going to trial.

With headquarters in Chicago, Romanucci & Blandin approaches a mass tort action or class action as a way to provide monetary compensation and hold a culpable person or institution financially accountable and responsible for the economic, physical and emotional damages that have occurred to a large group of individuals or families.

Our law firm has a team of attorneys and staff who have years of experience with mass tort and class action litigation. Our team includes partners who guide the process and share their deep knowledge of these types of lawsuits. Each client and each situation is different, and your claim is treated with great care and respect as the team investigates what happened and determines the best path to justice for you.

At Romanucci & Blandin, our mass tort attorneys and class action attorneys research the most up-to-date regulatory changes, state laws and federal laws and hire trained and experienced experts to work as expert witnesses and consultants on your cases. We will evaluate your injury, claim and research the relevant statute of limitations applicable to your case. Whether it is to review medical bills and laws, or knowing how state agencies and governmental agencies operate, we work to locate and utilize the best expert witnesses across the country who are experienced in all the relevant state laws. We work collaboratively with other law firms when the circumstances call for that and are proven leaders of these large group cases.