Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about mass torts, multidistrict litigation, class actions, settlement notices, filing deadlines and what Collective Claim does and does not do.
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These answers cover the questions readers ask most often about the subject matter on this site and about how the publication works. They are general information, not advice about any individual matter; the disclaimer explains the limits, and the contact page explains what the editorial desk can and cannot do.
Where an answer depends on a rule or a record, the primary source is named in the answer. For the underlying procedure, see the legal guides; for current cases, see the topic pages linked in the header.
Sources for these answers
- Federal multidistrict litigation: the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, jpml.uscourts.gov, and 28 U.S.C. 1407.
- Class certification: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (see the United States Courts rules pages).
- Regulatory records: FDA (fda.gov), CPSC (cpsc.gov), EPA (epa.gov).
- Settlement administration: the individual court-appointed administrator named in each settlement notice.
Questions and answers
What is a mass tort?
A mass tort is a set of claims by many people arising from the same product, substance or course of conduct, where the facts differ enough from person to person that the claims are not treated as one class action. They are usually coordinated for pretrial purposes in a federal multidistrict proceeding created by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or handled through a group of coordinated state cases. Each claimant keeps their own case.
What is the difference between an MDL and a class action?
A multidistrict proceeding (MDL) is created by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation under 28 U.S.C. 1407 to coordinate pretrial work on many separate lawsuits. It does not resolve claims collectively and does not bind anyone who has not sued. A class action is a single lawsuit certified by a court under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that resolves the claims of everyone in the class, including people who never filed, unless they opt out.
Does a settlement notice mean I am owed money?
No. A notice tells you that a settlement exists, whether it has been approved or is pending approval, what class or group it covers, and which administrator will process claims. Whether you are within the covered group, and whether your claim is payable, is decided by the administrator under the terms the court approved. Only the court-appointed administrator can confirm whether a claim was received or paid.
How long do I have to file an injury claim?
It depends on the state and the claim. Personal injury limitation periods are set by state statute, commonly two to three years but sometimes shorter or longer, and they run from different starting points depending on whether the injury was immediately apparent or discovered later. Distinct rules usually apply to claims by minors and claims against government bodies, which often require a shorter pre-suit notice. There is no single national deadline.
Is Collective Claim a law firm, and can it take my case?
We are not a law firm and we cannot take your case or advise you. We publish information about these litigations and we operate an inquiry service: if you send us details of a potential claim we may pass them to law firms that handle that category of case. Those firms decide whether to respond. Nothing we write or send is legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using this site.
Can I rely on an article instead of a lawyer?
No. Articles here are general information and cannot account for the facts, documents, jurisdiction and deadlines that decide a real matter. Where a deadline or a filing decision is involved, a licensed lawyer in the relevant state, or the court itself, is the right source.
Where do the facts in your articles come from?
Primarily from primary documents: FDA safety communications and label changes, CPSC recalls, EPA determinations, court dockets and opinions, Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation orders, statutes, official bankruptcy filings and court-appointed settlement administration sites. Secondary reporting is used for context and labelled as such in each article's Sources section.
How do you handle corrections?
Email editorial@collectiveclaim.us with the article, the statement and the document that contradicts it. Factual corrections are normally applied within two business days, with a dated correction note on the article, and summarised on the corrections policy page. Articles are never quietly deleted to resolve an error.
Do you use AI to write articles?
Drafts are produced with AI assistance against a brief that names the sources to be used, then reviewed and edited by the editorial desk before publication. An AI-produced statement that cannot be traced to a retrievable document is removed. The editorial policy sets out the standard and the corrections policy applies to AI-assisted errors like any other.
Do you run advertising or track readers?
Yes to advertising and no to tracking of the kind that profiles readers. Advertising is served by Google AdSense, which may set advertising cookies; that is described in the cookie policy and the privacy policy, and you can turn off personalised advertising. We use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-996VR99763) to count page views in aggregate, and a cookieless first-party counter on our own server; neither identifies you by name. There is no tag manager, no social embed and no heatmap tool. The web server keeps ordinary request logs for security and capacity.
Collective Claim publishes general legal information. This page is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship.