Mass tort litigation occurs when many people who have been injured due to negligence join forces to sue a single defendant, which is almost always a company. This usually happens when a defective or dangerous product causes injury or illness to unsuspecting consumers.
Unless you have deep pockets and can afford to spend significant resources in your legal battle against a powerful corporation, you may find it hard to pursue this fight without a reliable financial partner backing you every step of the way. That’s us. At Pinnacle Legal Funding, we offer mass tort litigation funding to plaintiffs so they can pay their bills and take care of their families while their case is still pending in court. Give us a call at 1-877-4-FUNDING or contact us online to start the 24-hour loan application process today.
What is Mass Tort Litigation?
In these cases, each plaintiff has their individual case, but they are united because they all have a common defendant and a similar cause of complaint. So, while they are suing as a group, each person can receive a different amount of compensation based on their unique circumstances.
The party they are suing could be:
- A medical device company distributing defective medical devices or implants
- A pharmaceutical corporation marketing a drug with severe, undisclosed side effects
- An employer exposing workers to lead, asbestos, cadmium, benzene, arsenic, mercury, or other dangerous compounds
- A construction company allowing toxic mold growth in their buildings
- An industrial plant failing to safely deal with hazardous chemicals
- A manufacturer releasing a product with life-threatening design flaws
- A corporation polluting local water supplies or air quality
- A transportation company involved in large-scale accidents, such as plane crashes or train derailments
- An investment company that lost its clients’ money due to dishonest practices
- A venue lacking sufficient security measures for attendees that results in a terror attack
The corporate defendant is usually forced to pay damages because the mass tort lawsuit shows them that people are not willing to keep quiet and accept their fate. Even though there are many plaintiffs, they might be represented by one law firm or a group of attorneys or law firms working together.
They all have one goal: to obtain the maximum possible compensation for the plaintiffs. This should cover medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and emotional distress. Compensation sometimes includes punitive damages to punish the defendant for gross negligence or malicious intent.
What is Mass Tort Litigation Funding?
The number of plaintiffs in mass tort cases or antitrust litigation cases can range from a few hundreds to tens of thousands, which is why most of these cases take several years to settle. There are a lot of steps before the case even goes to court.
First, everyone needs to be notified about the case. Mass tort lawyers also need a lot of time to gather the necessary information regarding how each plaintiff was affected by the defective product or misconduct. After that, they have to figure out the common points in everyone’s experiences to build a strong argument against the defendant.
The point is that it will likely take a fairly long time before you are compensated for your losses. In the meantime, you may be struggling due to loss of work and have a lot of bills to pay, especially if your loved ones rely on you for financial support. This is where Pinnacle Legal Funding can help.
We can give you a portion of your future settlement before the case reaches a resolution. Known as litigation funding or pre-settlement funding, these “loans” are non-recourse so you don’t need to pay them back. If and when the lawyers win the case, only then will we get paid out of the compensation you receive. The risk is 100% ours, you have nothing to lose.
How Litigation Funding Gives Your Case a Winning Chance
The companies on the other end of mass tort lawsuits typically have a lot of resources and can afford to drag out the case for years, hoping that the plaintiffs will give up and agree to a smaller settlement just to get it over with. A financial cushion in the form of a pre-settlement loan can change the game in your favor.
If you have rent or a mortgage or credit card bills piling up, you will be tempted to accept the unreasonably small amount of money you get offered by the defendant’s insurance company. That’s to be expected because you need the money ASAP! How are you supposed to fight against a giant corporation when you are struggling to buy groceries?
So, if you know that the offer is far less than what you truly deserve and what you have been through – don’t settle. Instead, apply for pre-settlement funding with Pinnacle Legal Funding and let us deal with your bills for the time being. Allow your lawyer to collect as much evidence as possible to build a case strong enough that the defendant will have no choice but to offer you a significant settlement that accurately reflects the losses you have suffered.
How Much Money Can You Get from Mass Tort Funding?
The amount of mass torts funding depends on the details of your case. At Pinnacle Legal Funding, we consider many factors to determine how much cash advance (not post-settlement funding) you qualify for, including:
- The extent of harm you suffered (life-altering injuries, death of a loved one, etc.)
- The strength of the evidence
- How much compensation you are expected to receive (based on similar cases in the past)
Depending on this evaluation, you could be eligible for anywhere from $500 to $500,000.
Is a Mass Tort the Same as a Class Action Lawsuit?
No, they are not. In a mass tort or business tort, each individual has their own separate case. Even though all the plaintiffs group together for the pre-trial proceedings, their cases are looked at separately. This means each plaintiff can have a different outcome and a different settlement amount.
Since each case is unique, people can have different details in their cases. For example, 50 people sue a pharmaceutical company for the same harmful medication, but the side effects they have suffered might be very different. The extent and nature of the injuries vary from person to person, even though they all come from the same drug.
If the mass tort does not settle and goes to trial, it is possible for individual cases to be tried separately, especially if there are major differences between the cases. That said, usually a few cases are chosen to go to trial first as “bellwether trials” to help both sides understand how the rest of the cases might go in the trial.
On the other hand, in a class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs group together into one big case. They choose a representative from among them, and this “class representative” or “named plaintiff” represents the whole group in court.
The main difference between a mass tort and a class action is that every plaintiff in the class action has faced the same or very similar kind of harm. For instance, if a tech company illegally sells the user data of all its customers to third parties without consent, every customer has suffered the same way – a violation of their privacy rights.
Also, when people win the class action lawsuit, the settlement money is divided equally among everyone in the group after deducting the legal fees.
How to Qualify for Mass Tort Litigation Funding
The biggest factor that matters when a litigation finance company is assessing your application is whether or not you have a lawyer who is working on a contingency fee basis. Remember, the litigation funders only get paid if you win the case, so they are taking a lot of risk. To minimize this risk, they need to be sure that you have a high chance of receiving compensation.
Attorneys have skills and experience that you don’t have, so if you decide to represent yourself, you are very unlikely to get mass tort or personal injury lawsuit loans. Hiring a lawyer on a contingency basis means they only get paid if you win the case, which ensures that they are motivated to work hard on your behalf.
Another factor is how strong the evidence is. Does your lawyer have enough documents, witnesses, and expert testimonies to prove that you have been genuinely affected by the defendant’s actions? The documents to show this proof of harm will include:
- Your medical records that show the extent of your injuries or illness
- A detailed account of all the bills (medical bills, repair bills, etc.,) incurred due to the issue
- Photographic or video evidence
- Witness statements
The more compelling your evidence, the higher the chances of getting third-party funding. If it is clear to the underwriters at Pinnacle Legal Funding that the defendant is at fault and responsible for the harm caused to you, your application will be approved and you will get the money wired to your account within 24 hours. The reason why we ask for the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ contact details in the application form is so we can discuss the case with them to determine exactly how strong the case is.
Fight for Your Rights While Backed by Mass Tort Litigation Funding
Unlike traditional lenders that may charge exorbitant compounding interest rates that can leave you with little to nothing after the mass tort settlement, Pinnacle Legal Funding charges zero upfront fees, no hidden charges, and a competitive interest rate.
All the loan repayment terms, including how much and when you need to pay us back, will be outlined in the agreement we send over for you and your lawyer to sign. There will be no surprises later. To learn more, give us a call at 1-877-4-FUNDING or write us an email at info@pinnaclelegalfunding.com.
