Mass Tort & Catastrophic Loss

Mass tort claims involving catastrophic personal injury, loss of life, or property damage can threaten the very existence of a company and require experienced and immediate legal assistance. Smith Anderson’s trial lawyers have the expertise to help protect a company in the face of such events and will formulate comprehensive investigation and defense strategies for individual claims, class actions, and/or multi-district (MDL) or aggregated claims litigation in North Carolina and other jurisdictions nationwide.

Blackwater Security Fallujah Ambush: Defense of a major security contractor regarding deaths of four independent contractors ambushed and killed on convoy in Fallujah, Iraq with national scope and implications and Congressional interest. This complex case involved federal and state lawsuits, Department of Labor and International Centre for Dispute Resolution proceedings, Congressional Sub-Committee hearings and multiple federal appeals in the United States Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court.
Hamlet Chicken Plant Fire: Defense of a manufacturer of industrial chicken fryer from catastrophic fire loss in chicken processing plant in Hamlet, NC resulting in twenty-four deaths and aggressive litigation.
Weyerhaeuser Chemical Pulp Silo Rupture: Defense of an engineering and manufacturing company from multiple death lawsuits from rupture of hydrochloric acid pulp silo at a major paper mill in North Carolina.
International Paper Boiler Explosion: Defense of paper manufacturer from multiple deaths and injuries from major plant boiler explosion.
Hendrick Motorsports King Air Aircraft Crash: Defense of a racing corporation for deaths following corporate plane crash.
ConAgra Plant Explosion: Defense of a gas regulator manufacturer in aggregated lawsuits involving four deaths and over forty workers injured in a catastrophic propane gas fire and explosion at a manufacturing facility.