Attorney Spotlight On

Daniel Nigh

Daniel Nigh is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio and primarily handles Benicar, TVM Mesh Implant, Knee Implant, Hip Implant, and Bair Hugger cases in the Mass Torts Litigation department. 

He has spoken at several conferences and co-authored several journal articles regarding Depuy ASR, Benicar, and Bair Hugger. 

Mr. Nigh has deposed key defendant custodial and expert witnesses in the DePuy Hip, TVM Mesh, and Benicar cases.

Mass Tort Fact

THE FIRST MASS TORT

Agent Orange is commonly viewed as the 1st mass tort litigation. The liability case was filed against Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto Company, and Northwest Industries, Inc. starting in 1978 and ended with a settlement for affected veterans in 1983.

Mass Tort Fact

Rick Kuykendall

Rick Kuykendall is a distinguished litigator with extensive experience in all areas of complex litigation, including product liability, mass tort, and environmental litigation. 

Over the course of his career, he has represented clients in every type of court, from municipal court to the Supreme Court of the United States, and has served as lead or co-lead counsel in cases with verdicts and settlements totaling more than $1 billion.

Mass Tort Fact

THE MASS TORT BOOM OF THE 80'S

Mass personal injury litigation emerged in the 1980s as a result of changes in social and legal trends. Advanced marketing of products increased the population's exposure to potentially injurious products and substances. 

Weaknesses in the FDA's regulatory process also contributed to the incidence of mass injuries. For example, medical devices, which until 1976 were not subject to FDA review, are well represented in mass tort litigation.

Attorney Spotlight On

Grant Davis

Grant Davis is a founding partner at Davis Bethine Jones. During his career, Grant L. Davis represented people harmed by negligent or intentional acts. 

Grant chose plaintiffs law because it gave him the opportunity to fight for those who had been harmed by wrongdoers. 

Grant is best known for his track record of winning large jury verdicts. Over time, this led to defendants proposing larger settlement offers for his clients before trial.

Mass Tort Fact

TORTS IN POPULAR MEDIA

In 2003 the tort industry was enshrined by the penultimate legal author John Grisham in his book "The King of Torts". 

The book follows Clay Carter, a poorly paid Washington, D.C. public defender who dreams of joining a large law firm. 

Several themes common in mass torts are featured, such as a fictional negligent drug company named Ackerman Laboratories and a coast-to-coast TV campaign for claimants harmed by the defective drug.

Attorney Spotlight On

Sol Weiss

Sol Weiss has played crucial roles in high-profile, national lawsuits including the National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, in which he serves as Co-Lead Counsel. 

In Pennsylvania, he's involved in Lead Class Counsel in the Kids for Cash civil rights litigation. Sol earned his law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 1972. 

He is licensed to practice in PA and is specially admitted to practice in other states.

Mass Tort Fact

LARGEST SETTLEMENT FOR A SINGLE PLAINTIFF

Across all the mass tort cases that have been settled, Deborah Barba’s payout from Boston Scientific is the largest for a single plaintiff. 

Delaware jurors awarded Barba $25 million in compensatory and $75 million in punitive damages for her injuries caused by the company’s Advantage Fit and Pinnacle transvaginal meshes.

Attorney Spotlight On

Danielle Mason

Danielle Ward Mason is a personal injury attorney specializing in claims involving dangerous drugs and medical devices.

One of the country’s most successful talcum powder litigation attorneys, Danielle has secured nearly $1 billion in verdicts against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn about ovarian cancer risks. 

She joined Sanders Phillips Grossman in 2019 and heads the firm’s talc litigation team.

Mass Tort Fact

MASS TORTS & WOMEN'S HEALTH

More than 200,000 women suffered pelvic infections, miscarriages, stillbirths, and infertility, and at least 17 died from complications caused by the Dalkon Shield IUD, produced by A.H. Robins in 1971. 

As a result of the Dalkon Shield litigations, Congress passed the Medical Device Amendments Act in 1976, which sought to impose new, stricter safety standards for medical device approval.

Attorney Spotlight On

Eric Holland

Eric Holland and the Holland Law Firm have consistently handled and tried the largest and most important civil cases in the country, achieving record-setting verdicts and settlements. 

Eric drives for positive social change such as removing unsafe firearms from streets, triggering governmental investigations, and fighting against court secrecy. 

His work has been featured in Bloomberg, the New York Times, NPR, CBS and CNBC to name just a few.

Mass Tort Fact

LARGEST & LONGEST LASTING MDL

MDL No. 875 is the largest and longest-lasting MDL. It was created in 1991 by the JPML to manage all asbestos personal injury and wrongful death cases in the federal courts.

As of 2011, over 121,000 cases had been transferred into MDL No. 875, and over 108,000 cases had been settled, dismissed, or remanded, leaving about 13,000 pending.

Attorney Spotlight On

Arthur Luxenburg

Arthur Luxenberg is a co-founding member of Weitz & Luxenberg. 

Named as the Best Lawyers 2013 mass tort litigation Lawyer of the Year in New York City, Mr. Luxenberg has earned the esteem of his colleagues for his abilities as a proven troubleshooter, developing and implementing winning strategies for appellate cases. 

Mr. Luxenberg has been rated as a New York “Super Lawyer” every year since 2006 and a “Best Lawyer” annually since 2008.

Mass Tort Fact

MASS TORT MOVIES

Movies about mass torts: the mass tort industry has taken Hollywood by storm producing several blockbuster movies based around mass litigation. 

Notable examples include; 

• A Civil Action
• Dark Waters
• Erin Brockovich
• The Insider

Attorney Spotlight On

Aimee Wagstaff

Aimee Wagstaff is a founding partner at Andrus Wagstaff. 

She has dedicated the entirety of her professional life to fighting pharmaceutical and medical device companies who harm her clients by putting profits before safety. 

The majority of Aimee’s litigation is done through national mass torts, usually MDLs or JCCPs. 

Aimee has been appointed by federal and state court Judges to co-lead four national litigations by the age of 40, representing tens of thousands of injured claimants.

Mass Tort Fact

ASBESTOS & MASS TORTS

Asbestos litigation began in the 1980s after scientists discovered that exposure to asbestos could lead to cancer as well as a number of other serious consequences. 

Today, asbestos plays a role in current ongoing mass tort litigation involving Johnson & Johnson's Talc Baby Powder.

This talc-based product has been shown to be contaminated with asbestos and is now connected to uterine cancer and other asbestos-related diseases as well.

Attorney Spotlight On

Mikal Watts

Mikal Watts is a founding partner of Watts Guerra which handles catastrophic personal injury, toxic torts, product liability, automotive defects, refinery negligence, commercial trucking negligence, medical device, pharmaceutical, and commercial litigation.

Mr. Watts’ litigation against Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. and Ford Motor Company resulted in resolving the most significant product liability case in the country.

Mass Tort Fact

MIKE PAP FUN FACT

Mike “Pap” Papantonio was featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Jesus Camp, a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spent their summers being taught that they have "prophetic gifts" and can "take back America for Christ".

Attorney Spotlight On

Mike Papantonio

Mike Papantonio is a senior partner with the law firm of Levin Papantonio. 

He has received numerous multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate malfeasance. 

His award-winning work has helped make Levin Papantonio one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the country. 

Mr. Papantonio is also the host of the international television show America’s Lawyer and founder of the nationally syndicated radio program Ring of Fire.

Mass Tort Fact

PERRY WEITZ CAMEO

Prominent mass tort lawyer, Perry Weitz, has a cameo appearance in the award winning TV show “Succession”. 

The series centers on the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar Royco, a global media and hospitality empire, who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox). 

The show premiered on June 3, 2018, on HBO, and has been renewed for a third season.