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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Legal resolutions in mass torts seldom hinge upon the merit of the complete case, they hinge on how rigorously every plaintiff has recorded their injury. When hundreds or thousands of claimants sue the identical defendant, your compensation is based on the effectiveness of your documentation, and not only the extent of your injury.
Build a Discovery Timeline First
The first thing a lawyer will consider when assessing a mass tort claim is whether there is a clear temporal proximity. In simple terms: how closely can you connect when you used a product and when you became ill? If those dates aren’t readily available, defense attorneys will have an easier time arguing that it was some other source that caused the harm.
Mass tort law firms will first look to easily accessible, proven documentation to create your timeline. This will likely include your product and medical records. These records will unquestionably be the first source defense counsel examines when looking for possible “outs” in your case. Knowing this, it is best for a court to have as complete a timeline as possible from the outset.
Start by physically writing down everything you have access to that has a date on it. This should include any receipts you may have, whether from purchasing the product or from seeking medical care. Check your insurance explanations of benefits for applicable dates. Maybe a prescription bill or receipt from the pharmacy. When did you start using the prescription? When did you stop using the prescription? When did you start noticing symptoms? When did you stop noticing symptoms? When did you contact an attorney? And, of course, you need to include any records related to the purchase of the product.
Centralize Every Piece of Medical Evidence
Your prescriptions can be critical evidence, the amount you were prescribed and how often can speak to how severe your condition was, and also to how well your prescriber believed the product could help. If your provider’s records include any unfavorable statements about the drug that was prescribed: be aware that inconsistencies in your medical history can give defense lawyers material to challenge your credibility.
Verify Exact Product Identification
This emphasizes the importance of identifying the product manufacturer. In this case, you should provide your attorney with as much information as you can regarding the product in question.
Complete Your Plaintiff Fact Sheet With Precision
When involved in an MDL, every claimant must complete and submit what’s known as a Plaintiff Fact Sheet. It is a detailed, standardized questionnaire covering information about the plaintiff’s injury, use of the product, medical treatment, and damages claimed. Ultimately, administrative errors in these forms are one of the top reasons a claim may be thrown out before even being considered on merit.
The PFS asks incredibly detailed, granular questions that many plaintiffs simply do not have at their fingertips. And if these answers aren’t consistent with your actual records, around which your attorneys will be building your case, this can not only disqualify your claim; it can be used as ammunition to question your entire truthfulness as a witness.
Preparation pays. A legal claim assistant can help ensure that the dates, dosages, and other highly specific administrative pieces of information all line up with the records you’ll be making public in court. Most importantly, they’ll help you get the full picture of what you’re potentially entitled to in damages.
Keep a Running Impact Journal
Quantifiable losses like wages, income, and out-of-pocket medical expenses can be substantiated. But a large portion of any mass tort settlement is set aside for pain, suffering, and loss of daily function. Those are on a per-plaintiff basis and vary widely from one individual to the next. They determine the lion’s share of every recovery.
The only evidence is what each plaintiff provides in support of his or her own claim. Insurers of mass tort defendants reject the claim that such damages shouldn’t be part of large global settlements. They argue that plaintiffs must document evidence of these elements in their claims and supporting materials.
The best way to satisfy the most rigorous subrogation counsel is to be able to produce evidence that would be admissible at trial if your case were to proceed through the civil justice system. A daily pain journal/medical diary that has been used in that way in federal multidistrict litigation as evidence of general causation can be a cornerstone of such admissible evidence.
Above all, the single most direct path to having a settlement share commensurate with your losses is to ensure that you will be able to give the most evidence. Start your daily pain journal now, contemporaneous notes carry far more weight than reconstructed accounts written months later.
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