Mass Actions & Personal Injury

Wagstaff & Cartmell’s team has built a national reputation handling some of the nation’s largest and most challenging mass actions and achieving highly regarded results along the way.

  • Recovered billions of dollars on behalf of clients
  • Achieved historic results in catastrophic injury and wrongful death suits
  • Regularly appointed to leadership positions in MDLs nationwide

To learn more about our Personal Injury and Mass Action work, contact us at (816) 701-1100.

Defending the masses with record breaking results

In our work on some of the nation’s largest mass action cases, we’ve helped thousands of clients across the country achieve record-breaking results. These mass actions often involve thousands of cases consolidated before one judge into multi-district litigations (MDLs), and our attorneys are regularly appointed to leadership positions within the MDLs. Our team has recovered more than a billion dollars on behalf of clients in these cases, involving a wide range of subject matters, including dangerous drugs, defective medical devices or wrongful actions that harmed a large group of people.

We also have achieved historic results on behalf of individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries or wrongful deaths as a result of negligence or intentional wrongdoing by corporations or other individuals. These cases have resulted in seven and eight figure settlements and verdicts for clients of our firm.

Notable Litigation

  • In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3060 (N.D. Ill.)

    Tom Cartmell was appointed by the Honorable Mary M. Rowland of the Northern District of Illinois as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (“PSC”).  This litigation is a consolidation of over 50 products liability and consumer protection lawsuits involving hair relaxing products that contain phthalates or other endocrine disrupting materials linked to uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, an

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  • Pelvic Mesh Repair System Products Liability Litigation (S.D.W.V.)

    In 2012, thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against several manufacturers of transvaginal mesh products. These cases were consolidated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) into several MDLs before the Honorable Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia. Among the dozens of lawyers who applied for leadership positions, Judge Goodwin selected Tom Cartmell as

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  • In Re: Avandia Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1871 (E.D. Pa.)

    In 2007, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) created an MDL consolidating a number of cases before the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. After being interviewed in open court, Judge Rufe appointed Tom Cartmell to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee leading this case. Tom was later selected to be co-lead trial counsel in the lead trial, which settle

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  • In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699

    Tom Cartmell was appointed by the Honorable Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California as a member of the Plaintiff's Steering Committee on this case. He also served as co-lead trial counsel in this product liability multi-district litigation arising out of the use of the medications Bextra and Celebrex. The lead case settled on the eve of trial and ultimately all cases in the MDL se

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  • In Re: Benicar Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606

    D.N.J. $358 million global settlement of more than 2,200 cases in MDL. David DeGreeff served as a member of the Science and Experts Committee and oversaw the Secondary Science Document Review. Jeff Kuntz was appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee for this case.

  • In Re: Depuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1699

    N.D. Tex. Total settlements in MDL reported to be more than $1.7 billion Tom Cartmell serves on the Steering Committee in this case pending in the Northern District of Texas in front of the Honorable Ed Kinkeade. This case involves hip implants and includes claims of negligent design and failure to warn.

  • In Re: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL 1842

    D.R.I. $184 million global settlement of more than 2,600 cases in MDL. Jeff Kuntz was a member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee for this case. He helped try the first Bellwether case in the multidistrict litigation.

  • In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2641

    Attorneys at Wagstaff & Cartmell worked on this case in which Tom Cartmell was appointed to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the District of Arizona in front of the Honorable David G. Campbell. David DeGreeff also served as a member of the Medical Monitoring Class Action Committee for this MDL, and was recently appointed by the Judge to serve on the Common Benefit Fee Committee. He was

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  • In Re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2071

    Tom was appointed by the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee. He personally represented clients from across the nation in this product liability litigation in the Southern District of New York arising out of injuries suffered from ingestion of ephedra containing weight loss supplements. Tom acted as settlement-resolution counsel on behalf of plaintiffs in the NVE and Musc

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We’re happy to help whatever the case may be.

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