Mass Tort Litigation

Overview

Attorneys in the Mass Tort Litigation Group at Eckert Seamans are experienced in the defense of mass tort lawsuits arising from environmental and occupational exposure to chemicals and other substances. Our attorneys have experience as national, regional, and local mass tort litigation counsel in matters involving exposure to asbestos, benzene, talc, and other petrochemicals, silica, isocyanates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organic solvents, formaldehyde, and pesticides.

These lawsuits have involved diverse circumstances of exposure and a variety of medical conditions, including restrictive and obstructive lung diseases, occupational asthma, cancers of various types, neurological dysfunctions, and the alleged need for medical monitoring.

In the course of defending thousands of mass tort claims, the Mass Tort lawyers at Eckert Seamans have served as national coordinating counsel for the defense of claims involving asbestos-containing products and other toxic substances, lead trial counsel in single and multiple-plaintiff cases, and joint defense counsel for multiple defendants. The firm’s lead counsel experience has encompassed cases tried to verdict and appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Our Mass Tort lawyers have substantial experience partnering with our clients to defend personal injury claims. We work with our clients not only to defend claims, but also to develop strategies to reduce the risk of future lawsuits and to efficiently and effectively budget for the defense of the litigation. Eckert Seamans attorneys coordinate and prepare pleadings and discovery responses, conduct client interviews, brief and argue pretrial motions on the sufficiency of expert witness testimony, defend company employees at depositions, and prepare for trial in a consistent and cost-effective manner.

The firm’s digital-case management system, Litigation Management OnlineSM, supports both in-house counsel in our clients’ law departments and a national network of lawyers and other professionals led by Eckert Seamans in the coordination and defense of mass tort claims and other large volume litigation matters. The LMOSM staff is organized into functional groups that include complaint processing, discovery, resource management, and claims processing. Through the use of advanced technology, including proprietary electronic case management systems, the LMOSM staff provides an efficient and cost-effective operation to support all aspects of the litigation process.

The firm’s extensive experience in this practice area minimizes the learning curve involved in handling any new matter and gives rise to other efficiencies, such as the prompt development of effective defense strategies, and the earliest possible evaluation of the merits of a claim to facilitate implementation of the client’s defense strategy and the ultimate disposition of the case. In addition, Eckert Seamans’ clients have access to the firm’s significant collection of legal authorities relating to exposure, causation and liability issues commonly encountered in this type of litigation and benefit from early identification and retention of appropriate experts to deal with medical, toxicological, industrial hygiene, warnings, and other issues.

Representative Matters

  • Attorneys in Eckert Seamans’ Mass Tort Litigation group try asbestos cases on a regular basis in their roles as national coordinating counsel for the successor to a leader in the worldwide commercial electrical power generation and control industry, a global manufacturer of commercial and industrial pumps, a machining facility that specializes in the design and manufacture of hoisting equipment and marine deck machinery, and a global leader in the production of construction products.
  • Our attorneys serve as national, regional and local counsel for a large number of diverse clients, defending asbestos cases in some of the more challenging jurisdictions in the country, including Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
  • Mass Tort practice group members have been involved in matters involving alleged exposures to asbestos, benzene, isocyantes and numerous other toxic substances
  • Several of our attorneys have significant experience advising clients on the issues relating to Medicare Section 111 reporting obligations and have designed reporting programs for a number of our corporate clients
  • We have represented manufacturers and suppliers of trucks and autos; pumps; boilers; mining equipment; power generation, transmission and control equipment, among others, as well as premises owners and independent contractors