In a culture where lawsuits are often a client’s first response, it’s essential to evaluate potential cases on the basis of firm criteria. This is particularly important with regards to pharmaceutical, medical device and toxic tort litigation. While a person’s pain and suffering are certainly relevant issues, the viability of a claim rests on others. This CLE course will explain the criteria to consider when evaluating the viability of a mass tort litigation with regards to these areas and will review such issues as:

Pharmaceutical and Supplement cases:

• Over the counter (OTC) vs prescription
• Nutritional supplement as a branch of OTC
• Role of package insert on warnings case viability
• Timing of the label change in relation to the injuries
• Design defects
• Injury Assessments
• Statute of limitations
• Injury prevalence in population of product users
• Generic drug cases – preempted or viable??
• Solvency of defendants

Medical Device Cases:

• Preemption Class III PMA
• Substantial Equivalence
• Manufacturing Defects
• Design Defects
• Confounding Medical Malpractice
• Device Preservation and Storage and Analysis

Toxic Tort Litigation:

• Criteria
• Number of Defendants – Less is More
• Worker Cases and Exposure levels
• Compensation bar; sophisticated user and bulk supplier defenses
• Environmental exposure and exposure pathways
• Polluters and their viability, pollution exclusion
• Proof of exposure levels
• Medical monitoring – pros and cons
• Proving and Modeling Exposure
• Daubert and Frye factors