Wondering whether an injury case should stand alone or join a bigger group?
It is a question that confuses thousands of injured consumers each year. And here’s the kicker… Choosing whether to file individually, or as part of multidistrict litigation can drastically alter how the case is handled, how long it takes to resolve, and how much of the award actually reaches the plaintiff’s pocket.
This decision arises most frequently in a failure to warn lawsuit – the type of lawsuit that is brought when a pharmaceutical company, manufacturer, or medical device company knew about a danger but failed to warn consumers. A high-profile example of this was the Tylenol autism lawsuit in which parents filed failure to warn claims related to the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy.
Here’s the good news: Lawyers have a science-backed recipe for choosing wisely. Here’s how they do it…
Here’s what’s inside:
- What Is an Individual Injury Lawsuit?
- What Is Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)?
- The Key Differences Between Each
- How Attorneys Evaluate Each Case
- What About a Failure to Warn Lawsuit?
What Is an Individual Injury Lawsuit?
An individual injury lawsuit is exactly what it sounds like…
A single injured plaintiff brings a single lawsuit against the party they believe injured them. Period. There are no classes, no consolidated dockets, no dozens of other plaintiffs holding everyone else hostage.
This type of case usually covers:
- Car accident injuries
- Slip and fall claims
- Medical malpractice
- Single-defendant product injuries
Every aspect of the case is custom fit to that individual. Their medical expenses. Their lost income. Their pain and suffering.
The best part? Individuals lawsuits empower you. The lawyer negotiates with the defendant. Settlement offers are made directly to you, the client. And it gets resolved in a timeline that matches your case… not thousands like in a class action.
That system works fine if only one person was injured or if a small group of people were injured. But what happens when thousands of people are injured by the same defective product at the same time? If they all filed individual lawsuits, there would be thousands of lawsuits filed in court. Multi-District Litigation was designed for situations like this.
What Is Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)?
Multidistrict litigation is a special federal process…
It consolidates lawsuits with common issues from across the country for pretrial development under a single judge. You can think of MDL as the federal court’s solution to managing massive floods of similar claims without flooding every district in the nation.
MDLs are big. In FY 2024, 75,570 civil actions were pending in MDL proceedings. Crazy enough… MDLs now comprise over half of all pending federal civil cases.
MDLs are usually formed when:
- Hundreds or thousands of people are hurt by the same product
- The same defendant is involved in each case
- Common factual and legal questions cross every claim
- Individual trials would waste massive court time
Each plaintiff retains his or her own lawsuit. However, the pretrial activities — discovery, motions, expert witnesses, etc. — are conducted on a consolidated basis. After pretrial activities are completed, cases may settle, be remanded back to the home court for trial, or be tried as bellwether trials.
An MDL may include a bellwether trial. Bellwether trials are small test cases used to help both sides understand what juries are likely to do with the remaining cases in the MDL. In most instances, the bellwether trial(s) leads to an acceleration of settlement discussions.
The Key Differences Between Each
The two options might sound similar on the surface. But they operate very differently:
- Scale: An individual lawsuit involves one plaintiff. An MDL can involve thousands.
- Control: Plaintiffs have individual control over their own case. MDL plaintiffs are controlled by the decisions of the lead attorney.
- Timeframe: Mergers can happen on an expedited schedule for individual cases. MDLs generally take years because of their massive nature.
- Damages: Individual cases are specific to the individual. MDL’s typically employ a common fund formula.
- Discovery costs: Each case pays for itself. MDLs spread out enormous expenses to all plaintiffs.
Both paths can produce strong results. The question is which one fits the case.
How Attorneys Evaluate Each Case
Attorneys don’t guess when they choose between individual and MDL…
They have certain factors that they use to determine which scenario is best. Take a look at what most seasoned injury attorneys consider:
Number of Victims Involved
When an injury impacts a large pool of plaintiffs from the same product, MDL is typically the better option. When the damages belong to one individual — such as a car accident or singular incident of medical malpractice — a single lawsuit makes more sense.
Strength of the Evidence
Lawyers consider the strength of causation/damages evidence. Complex product liability cases (pharmaceutical, medical device, chemical) typically require joint discovery to establish causation. Translation: MDL. Simple cases with obvious liability can progress faster independently.
Damages and Case Value
Some plaintiffs have enormous, unique damages. Lawyers might take that plaintiff out of an MDL and file individually so their special injuries aren’t overshadowed in a group settlement. This happens often in severe injury or wrongful death cases.
Court Efficiency
If there are already hundreds of lawsuits filed, lawyers will often suggest you join the MDL. Litigating the same issues in 50 courts is a waste of time.
Speed to Resolution
Speed is of the essence. Moreover, most personal injury cases don’t go to trial. In fact, only 4% of personal injury cases ever go to trial. MDLs may take longer, but the individual cases move quickly when liability is obvious.
What About a Failure to Warn Lawsuit?
A failure to warn lawsuit is a type of product liability lawsuit. It occurs when a business knew (or should have known) about a risk and did not warn users.
These cases can go either way — individual or MDL. Here’s the deal:
- Individual filing is appropriate if only a few people are affected or if you have distinct injuries.
- MDL filing makes sense when thousands of people nationwide are injured by the same product.
The majority of large failure to warn cases become MDLs. This includes pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products claims.
The MDL brings some benefits for plaintiffs. For one, it’s typically cheaper for plaintiffs to join an MDL. The lead lawyers will do the bulk of the work. Plaintiffs will also have access to joint expert testimony and pooled discovery.
The downside? MDLs move slowly. And settlements tend to follow a formula. That’s why lawyers pick their cases carefully.
Final Thoughts
Choosing between an individual lawsuit and multidistrict litigation isn’t a simple call…
Every approach has advantages. Every approach has drawbacks. Also, it depends on the specific details of the situation. To summarize:
- Individual lawsuits work best for unique or single-defendant harm
- MDLs work best for mass injury from the same product or drug
- Failure to warn cases typically qualify for an MDL when large numbers of people have been injured
- Attorneys weigh scale, evidence, damages, and speed to pick the right route
All injury victims should have access to the correct road. That is why it benefits you to talk to a lawyer who has experience with both types of cases.
Since, at the end of the day, the goal is the same – just compensation.
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