This report, done for the Mass Torts Working Group, appointed in 1998 by the Chief Justice, organizes and presents information from published sources on about fifty sets of mass tort litigations involving personal injury and property damage claims. Information presented includes the shape of the litigation (e.g., individual, class action, consolidation, etc.), the number and type of parties, the dispersal of cases in the federal and state systems, the number and types of injuries alleged, the type of product involved and the evidence of its ability to cause the harm alleged, the extent of research and testing of the product, the length of any latency period, the extent of public exposure to the product, and the current status of the litigation.
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