Mass Tort

Have you ever gotten a letter in the mail that says you're eligible for a mass settlement in a case, and you're one of many people that might be able to get money. Fill out this form, and send it in? How does that work? And how many people actually do that?

Well, the answer is, that's usually a class action or a mass tort case, where a judge has overseen negotiations and agreed that a certain lump sum settlement can settle all the claims of everyone in that class of people. Oftentimes, you're only gonna get a few cents or a few dollars. But it's a formality that they have to go through.

Big winners usually are the lawyers, that did all the work, that found out that this was happening, that took the evidence to trial, filed the lawsuit, and collected. Let's say they collected $100 million; they might get 15 or 20% of that. Sometimes even more depending on how difficult it was. As far as the people that were actually injured, hopefully the judge supervising the case has made sure that it's a fair settlement. And that everybody that was injured is at least getting something. And some cases, obviously, are better than others, but generally that's how it works.