Mass Tort Case Management
Mass Tort Case Management & Development
Mass tort case development is a challenging and often daunting experience that can cause any lawfirm to feel incredibly overwhelmed by the process
A mass tort is a civil action that involves many plaintiffs suing one or more defendants in state or federal courts.
These lawsuits tend to arise from a wrongful act that causes similar injuries to many people. Mass tort case development is a challenging and often daunting experience that can cause any lawfirm to feel incredibly overwhelmed by the process. Firms trying to save on time and resources can outsource specific mass tort litigation management tasks to a third-party company equipped to handle the challenges these massive caseloads present. With the help of Case Works, law firms can now leverage technology to ease the burdens brought on by mass tort lawsuits, ensuring that clients get the diligent and effective representation they deserve.
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Developing a Successful Mass Tort Case
Mass tort litigation is vastly different from a single personal injury case. For instance, with mass tort cases, many plaintiffs might use a pharmaceutical drug or consumer product for many years only to later discover that the product causes cancer.
To build a successful case, an attorney would need to review years and years of medical records for various injured consumers and independent studies regarding the product, attempting to determine causation, manufacturer knowledge or oversight, and the extent of harm.
Consequently, managing these details and the number of plaintiffs can leave a law firm struggling and feeling overwhelmed. These limitations are not the only hurdles these law firms face. Problems may arise with any of the following mass tort litigation processes and procedures:
Mass Tort Conferences
Firms filing the initial multidistrict litigation (MDL) claim often sponsor conferences to get other firms to join the case. However, due to the expenses and time involved in pursuing this type of litigation, few firms can handle these mass tort conferences independently.
Case Management
Issues
Law firms handling mass tort cases find themselves going through numerous legal proceedings, including managing documents, building client files, establishing claims, and monitoring parties. This extensive case handling can become complicated and burdensome quickly.
Time Management Issues
Handling a mass tort case in a timely fashion is crucial to the process. However, it can also be quite overwhelming for a firm, especially with the involvement of many plaintiffs, each needing individual case attention and management.
Metrics Issues
Law firms taking on these cases need to calculate the cost and metrics of each mass tort case to verify that the return on investment makes sense for their business.
These are just some of why lawyers often turn to case management companies that can offer these services at a time-and cost-savings to the firm. Solutions specially tailored to mass tort litigation can help build a successful case and mitigate tedious administrative aspects. It doesn’t take a significant number of staff to handle these claims but rather a scalable platform to make the process more manageable and efficient.
What are the benefits of outsourcing mass tort case management and development?
Outsourcing is the practice of hiring another party to perform given tasks rather than passing these responsibilities to your internal team or hiring new employees to carry them out. It can often provide a business numerous benefits, including freeing up personnel to focus on more important duties while maintaining lower costs.
Benefits of outsourcing for legal professionals, especially when it comes to mass tort cases, include:
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How can outsourcing mass tort case management help with client unresponsiveness?
Law firms don’t have countless hours to reach out to clients and follow up repeatedly to get a response. Transparency and keeping clients up to date on case happenings are critical to maintaining a solid working relationship. Additionally, attorneys often need client involvement and input to keep litigation moving forward.
Outsourcing this task allows a firm to focus on building the case while the outsourced company uses its resources to get unresponsive clients on the line. At Case Works, our large team of professionals has the needed experience and specific methods to deal with client communication timely and effectively.
Outsourcing this task allows a firm to focus on building the case while the outsourced company uses its resources to get unresponsive clients on the line. At Case Works, our large team of professionals has the needed experience and specific methods to deal with client communication timely and effectively.
Why should your law firm outsource your mass tort litigation case management tasks to Case Works?
When lawyers decide to take on mass tort litigation cases, they might initially be overwhelmed by the vast array of responsibilities. Case Works can help by tackling many of the tasks associated with these cases. Additionally, Case Works sets itself apart in the industry in the following ways:
At Case Works, we have a team of professionals available to ensure all the work we take on for your firm is of the highest quality. Each team member is well versed in double-and triple-checking their work so that the services provided are the best for your legal practice. We will check progress along the way and address any problems or concerns before it becomes an issue for your firm so that you can have the assurance of the most efficient, valuable, and excellent operations.
Mass tort cases often require attorneys to retrieve medical records dating back many years to determine whether the plaintiffs have a case. Unfortunately, these records are often incomplete, or there are issues with them that can impact the direction of the litigation or final outcomes. Fortunately, at Case Works, our team can work with medical retrieval vendors to resolve any medical records with defects, ensuring your law firm has the appropriate tools it needs to establish solid arguments for your clients.
Case Works can help audit your mass tort cases by checking records to identify the ordering and receipt of the proper documents and determine whether the firm has proof of use and injury associated with any given subject. Case auditing is important to decide where the case is at in the process and pinpoint any holes in the plaintiff’s claim or supporting evidence that need addressing. It also ensures the timely handling of each matter to avoid missing pertinent deadlines, which could get a case dismissed if not adhered to.
At Case Works, we use our Case Ready™ system to efficiently move mass tort cases from signed retainer to fully proven and filed with the MDL. Some of the principles that help guide Case Works’ processes are as follows:
Our case development process is streamlined, refined, and designed to keep cases moving forward.
We can jumpstart held-up cases.
We make sure to own problems and find solutions so that your legal team can focus on top priorities.
We provide complete transparency on cases and how the docket is progressing.
Mass Tort Case Management & Development Services
When you choose to work with Case Works, you can count on high-quality performance and excellent customer service. You can choose from any of the services listed below or allow us to handle the full extent of your firm’s needs, from a signed retainer to the end result.
Onboarding clients is the first step in starting a legal case. This process introduces new clients to the law firm to begin building a mutually beneficial relationship. Although this may not be a problem for a single case, onboarding can be incredibly burdensome when handling mass tort litigation with hundreds of new clients who need to be welcomed and expectations set.
When law firms outsource their client onboarding process to Case Works, it can free attorneys up for more important matters, like taking care of each client and adequately meeting their needs.
When law firms outsource their client onboarding process to Case Works, it can free attorneys up for more important matters, like taking care of each client and adequately meeting their needs.
Part of preparing a mass tort case involves procuring medical documents and records about a patient’s health care history and present medical care and treatments. Mass tort attorneys build their cases based on information found in these records, and so their expedient retrieval and organization is essential.
Just pulling the records isn’t enough — lawyers need a detailed understanding of what information is in every document. Considering the large number of documents required to put together a mass tort case, it is particularly important that these documents be reviewed with an eye toward the relevant information and summarized for the attorneys’ benefit, ideally by someone with the proper medical training to know what to look for.
As discussed, many mass tort cases require medical documentation to prove the client’s injuries. In some cases, these reports may not exist yet, and that’s where diagnostic services come in. Showing that clients were injured by use of or exposure to a product is impossible without a diagnostic report completed by a medical professional.
Keeping clients up to date and letting them know that your firm is taking care of them is of the utmost importance. However, because mass tort cases can involve thousands of people, it can be challenging for a lawyer to communicate with all of them directly. Outsourcing this task ensures that clients remain informed and engaged throughout the process.
Aside from keeping track of a slew of paperwork, lawyers handling mass tort cases must attend meetings, keep up with clients, and generally maintain a tight ship. It can be easy in these cases to feel overwhelmed due to the sheer amount of operational work and having someone else to take care of the nitty-gritty can make it much easier for an attorney to focus on what they need to do to win a case.
Plaintiff forms are documents used to gather information from clients, often required by the courts. They can be standardized and are a great way to handle thousands of plaintiffs in a mass tort case. You don’t need to send them to your clients – Case Works’ team can handle the data collection for you and get you all the information you need.
In a single event case, a demand letter is sent to state the basis of the legal claim and make a demand for restitution. It lays the groundwork for a case, so our team can help prepare your letters with an abundance of caution.
When it’s time to file your mass tort case, our Case Works paralegals are ready. We will go through all the necessary steps, including ensuring proper preparation and filing cases with the appropriate court.
Lawyers need to keep their clients informed on case happenings, but some clients may become less responsive over time, especially in the case of a long-lasting mass tort case. Your firm can benefit greatly from a team that’s dedicated to communicating with your clients and keeping them engaged with your practice and in their case progression.
If your law firm is looking for further information regarding Case Works’ extensive case development services, request a free consultation by filling out our online form today.
