TORT OR MASS TORT ACTION? - Oklahoma Workers Comp ...

Every law school student knows the definition of a tort, but do you?

You should, because one day you might find yourself in court after filing either a single tort lawsuit or becoming part of a mass tort action.

DEFINITION OF A TORT

Essentially, a tort is a civil wrong, dealing with a situation where someone?s ?individual? behavior has unfairly caused you to suffer loss or harm. ?This can mean damage to your property, to your body, or to your reputation: a ball through a picture window, injuries from a car crash, misleading statements in the newspaper about your business.

In the eyes of the law, an ?individual? can also mean a company or corporation. This is important should you join a class action lawsuit or mass tort action in the future.

However, torts are not criminal matters, because crimes are acts against society, whereas torts are wrongs directed against a specific individual.

If you are that individual (also known as the plaintiff), you can sue the person responsible (the defendant) for monetary damages because he or she is legally responsible for your injuries. Torts basically mean that if someone harms you unfairly, you can receive compensation.

An example:? a kamikaze cyclist rides his bike too fast on the sidewalk and knocks down your 85-year-old mother, breaking her hip. This would be a ?negligent tort?, and you could sue the cyclist for pain and suffering, and reasonable medical expenses.

Civil court is where you will generally seek compensation if you feel you have a legitimate tort lawsuit?such as injuries caused by a negligent car accident.

The three types of torts are:

• Negligence?such as personal injuries due to car, boat, or motorcycle accidents.
• Intentional?such as assault and battery. Punitive damages are often awarded.
• Strict Liability?such as manufacturers failing to ensure that their products are fit for public consumption. Strict liability helps safeguards consumers. Another example is a legal finding that an individual keeping dangerous equipment on his/her property is responsible for injuries caused by them, despite required safeguards.

Now that you understand torts that involve personal injury to an individual, here?s an explanation of torts with interdependence and commonality among plaintiffs.

TORTS AND CORPORATIONS

A class action lawsuit fits the bill. It involves a large group of people, represented by one or more individual plaintiffs, who have been harmed in a similar way by an individual, group (or business), or product.

It is often brought against a company or corporation on behalf of consumers, and involves one trial.

The upside of this proceeding is that it cuts down court cases that arise due to the same problem, and also reduces legal fees. The downside is that the complainants often receive a low settlement.

Another type of class action is a mass tort action. A mass tort action is still a tort?a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of victims who suffer the same set of damages or injuries.

The operative word is mass:

• mass in terms of people involved in litigation
• mass media used to recruit more plaintiffs and to publicize (even if indirectly) the lawsuit
• mass use of resources among attorneys and among the defendant corporation or corporations

Mass tort actions are filed on behalf of consumers injured on a large scale by defective products?such as certain breast implants; by hazardous substances???such as asbestos; and by man-made disasters on a large scale.

Unlike generic class action lawsuits, however, mass tort actions are not usually a case of ?one size fits all?. Because defective products and drugs cause a wide range of injuries to different parties, each plaintiff usually requires an individual trial. Such litigation can be costly to the plaintiff, but equally, compensation can be higher than that of a class action settlement.

If you believe you have a case for an individual claim or a mass tort action, you should contact your local attorney for information and legal advice.

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