Medical Injury Lawsuits

Medical injury lawsuits are sometimes pursued as mass tort actions and at other times are pursued as class actions.

Mass Tort Medical Injury Lawsuits

Mass tort actions are matters in which large numbers of a population suffer injuries from the same product or cause.  The product complained of in a mass tort medical injury lawsuit must be widely available or mass marketed, and the product must be inherently dangerous or defective in terms of its manufacture, design or intended use.  Furthermore, the use, ingestion, implantation or exposure to the product must cause personal injuries to a large number of users.

Mass tort medical injury lawsuits share some common facts and legal theories, and although the damages often differ from person to person, the case values are often interdependent.  In these cases, the claims are pursued individually or in small groups of claimants sharing common complaints, injuries or adverse events.  Mass tort medical injury lawsuits will often be consolidated for the pretrial discovery process through the creation of an MDL (multidistrict litigation).

Class Action Medical Injury Lawsuit

A class action medical injury lawsuit is a lawsuit in which a large number of people with similar legal claims join together in a group (called the "class") to sue a particular person or entity, such as a pharmaceutical company.  When a medical injury lawsuit is pursued as a class action, a single or a few individuals are named as representatives of the class.  The medical injury litigation is pursued by these select parties for the benefit of all class members or affected parties.  In the past, many medical device recall and drug recall claims were pursued as medical injury class action lawsuits.

In a medical injury class action lawsuit, when a settlement is reached or a verdict is rendered, a settlement or award is established to compensate the class as a whole.  In doing so, the named representatives may be compensated differently from the unnamed members of the class.  Any individual who meets the criteria of a class member, such as someone who was injured by a defective medical device or suffered from harmful drug side effects, could be included in the global settlement.  Steps will be taken to notify potential class members of the settlement terms of the medical injury class action lawsuit to allow them the opportunity to participate in the settlement or opt out to pursue their own litigation.

What is an MDL for a Medical Injury Lawsuit?

MDL stands for Multidistrict Litigation.  In mass tort cases that could potentially involve hundreds or even thousands of plaintiffs across the country, a Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL Panel, examines a pending action in various federal districts to determine if the medical malpractice claims involved in a lawsuit has one or more common questions of fact that would benefit from consolidating the case into a single federal district for pretrial proceedings.  The panel then selects the judge or judges and the court assigned to conduct the pretrial proceedings.

The idea behind the MDL process is to avoid duplication of discovery, prevent inconsistencies in pretrial rulings, and to conserve the resources of the parties, their attorneys and the judiciary.  The creation of an MDL is common in pharmaceutical and medical injury lawsuits.

When a medical injury lawsuit is transferred to a federal MDL, the case is not permanently moved.  It is transferred back to its originating court by the MDL at or prior to the conclusion of the centralized pretrial proceedings.

An MDL process ensures that all parties involved in the medical injury lawsuit receive the same discovery and all plaintiffs present the same background information and support for their claim.  It streamlines the process for both plaintiffs and defendants.

In some instances, individual states will establish their own MDL to consolidate discovery in the mass tort medical injury lawsuits filed in various state courts.

Choosing a Law Firm and Getting Started with a Medical Injury Lawsuit

In most cases, the process begins with the selection and hiring of a competent medical attorney.  The attorney selection should be based on the verifiable track record of the attorney or law firm in question and should not be based solely on representations made by a member of the firm.  In a pharmaceutical or medical injury lawsuit, the first undertaking by the medical injury attorney will be the gathering of medical and/or pharmacy records.  This is a necessary step to get the process started so that the attorney can confirm the use of the dangerous drug or product and the adverse result you experienced.

Choosing the Right Court for a Medical Injury Lawsuit

After collecting medical records and confirming that your case meets the requirements for pursuing a medical injury lawsuit, a medical attorney will draft and file your lawsuit in the appropriate court.  The suit may be filed in the state where you live, or it may be necessary to file it in a different state.  The venue decision is made by your medical injury attorney after researching and examining the facts of the case and determining the most appropriate forum for your lawsuit.

Filing the Medical Injury Lawsuit and Serving the Defendant

The first step in a medical injury lawsuit is to file a document as a notice and commencement of the lawsuit.  This can be in the form of a complaint, a petition or a writ depending on where the medical injury lawsuit is filed.  This is often accompanied by a summons notifying the defendant medical device manufacturer or pharmaceutical company that it has been sued.  After the medical injury lawsuit has been filed with the court, the summons and complaint, writ or petition, together with the appropriate service documents, is served upon or delivered to the defendant.

The Medical Injury Lawsuit Defendant Answers

Following service of these documents, the defendant in a medical injury lawsuit has a specified time frame in which to file an answer.  The defendant’s answer may vary depending on the rules of civil procedure for the court in which the medical injury lawsuit was filed.  In some state courts, a defendant may file a general denial.  In courts in which the medical injury lawsuit is commenced with a writ and notice of suit, the defendant’s response may simply be a request for the plaintiff to file a formal complaint.  In federal court, the defendant must identify which statements or allegations in the complaint they agree with or admit and which they contest or deny.  The defendant’s answer to the medical injury lawsuit may include any defenses they claim in response to the plaintiff’s allegations or they may file a cross-claim against the plaintiff.

The Discovery Process of a Medical Injury Lawsuit

After the defendant has answered the medical injury lawsuit filed with the court, the discovery process begins.  The deadlines and procedures may vary slightly from one court to the other, but the general process remains the same.  During the discovery process, the parties exchange information about the issues raised in the medical injury lawsuit.  Discovery generally takes one of three forms: written questions (generally referred to as "interrogatories and requests for admissions"), production of documents and tangible items, and depositions.  A deposition is a form of interview wherein the witness answers questions under oath in the presence of a court reporter who transcribes the testimony to create a complete record of the process.  In most cases, the discovery is directed to the opposing party; however discovery requests may be directed to witnesses, experts or medical providers.

In a pharmaceutical or medical products injury lawsuit, the parties will submit discovery requests seeking records or information about the plaintiff’s medical treatment or history.  Depositions will be taken of the parties but also of medical providers, the custodian of records for the provider’s offices and expert witnesses.  Sometimes discovery will be conducted in the form of a deposition on written questions accompanied by a request for documents.  All discovery in a medical injury lawsuit must be answered under oath.  The information exchanged in the discovery process serves as the basis for developing the evidence and testimony to be used at trial.

Disposing of a Medical Injury Lawsuit Without Trial

In many cases, the parties will file motions in an attempt to end the medical injury lawsuit or eliminate certain issues before trial of the medical injury claim.  Some examples are motions to dismiss or motions for summary judgment. When a motion is filed in a medical injury lawsuit, the court must determine whether or not the evidence presented in the motion is sufficient to dispose of the case or the issues raised.  Motions are determined by applying the law to the facts presented.  If disputed facts of a medical injury lawsuit are presented to the court, the motion should be denied so that a jury may decide the fact question.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) of a Medical Injury Lawsuit

Medical injury lawsuits will go through a form of alternative dispute resolution, either by joint decision of the parties or by court order.  These options are less formal that the trial process and may be completed at any time during the process without the need to wait for a trial date to arrive.  The options for alternative dispute resolution are mediation and arbitration.

Mediation is an aided negotiation process for reaching settlement of a medical injury lawsuit.  In mediation, a third party mediator works with both the plaintiff and defendant in an effort to facilitate settlement.  The mediator has no power to bind the parties or make decisions on the outcome of the medical injury lawsuit but may discuss with each party the strengths and weaknesses of their case in an effort to encourage settlement.

Arbitration is like an informal mini-trial of the lawsuit.  In arbitration, each side presents their evidence to prove or disprove medical injury to either a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators.  The arbitrator listens to the evidence of the medical injury lawsuit, examines the applicable laws and rules on the case.  The decision of the arbitrator is binding on all parties, except in certain circumstances when the arbitrator’s decision may be appealed to the judge of the court in which your medical injury lawsuit is pending.

Trial of a Medical Injury Lawsuit

If your medical injury lawsuit survives motion challenges and is not settled in mediation or arbitration, it will proceed to trial.  The most important decision in preparing for trial is whether or not to request a jury.  If a jury is requested to hear your medical injury lawsuit, the first step in the trial process will be jury selection.  Once a jury is chosen, the trial can begin.  During trial, both the plaintiff and defendant will have an opportunity to present evidence, testimony and arguments supporting their claim or position.  After the conclusion of the presentation of the cases, the judge or jury will make a determination to resolve the issues in the medical injury lawsuit.  A jury will be given specific questions to answer that will guide their decision.  If the judge or jury finds that the facts and evidence support the plaintiff’s claim of medical injury, they will determine the amount to be awarded to compensate the plaintiff in the lawsuit.  If a decision is made in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff is awarded nothing.

Medical Injury Lawsuit Appeal

Either party may appeal the verdict or decision of the judge or jury in a medical injury lawsuit to a higher court.  This is a long and tedious process and the appellate court generally will not overturn the ruling of the judge or jury because they were in the best position to decide the outcome of the medical injury lawsuit, after seeing all evidence presented in the case.

Judgment Issued in the Medical Injury Lawsuit

If an appeal is not sought, or after the appeals process concludes, a judgment is entered in favor of the prevailing party of the medical injury lawsuit.  The defendant must then satisfy the monetary judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

Medical injury lawsuits require attorneys who know where to find the expert witnesses needed to prove your case against the party responsible for the serious medical injury you or your loved one has suffered.

For a FREE case review by a medical injury attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP, fill out the FREE Case Review form on this page (recommended) or call us at (866)222-2606.