Mass Tort brief
Litigating the Costs of Harm
The High Court refines mass injury claims as billions in state and corporate compensation programs head toward critical deadlines.
Mass Tort
A fresh $150M funding package has armed the Mariana dam claimants — ensuring they can match BHP’s legal budget in the largest environmental lawsuit in UK history.
BackgroundThe 2015 Mariana dam collapse in Brazil killed 19 people and caused catastrophic environmental damage. Over 600,000 Brazilian victims sued parent company BHP in London, utilizing the UK court system to seek compensation.
- Pogust Goodhead has partnered with litigation heavyweight Quinn Emanuel as co-counsel, bolstering its courtroom bench for the upcoming massive Stage 2 quantum trials.
- The UK Supreme Court is reviewing an appeal regarding whether BHP's efforts to halt the English case through Brazilian courts constitute criminal contempt, raising jurisdictional stakes.
- The fresh funding package matches the extensive legal resources deployed by BHP’s defense, protecting claimants against being outspent and forced into a premature settlement.
Mass Tort
The High Court is raising the bar for the UK’s baby powder litigation — forcing thousands of claimants to prove strict baseline standards before they can leverage trials.
BackgroundThe High Court granted a Group Litigation Order in June to manage claims alleging J&J's talc caused cancer. The action represents one of the largest medical product liability cases in UK legal history, focusing on former consumer division Kenvue.
- The ruling addresses J&J's application to strike out claims failing to meet strict group requirements, raising the barrier for prospective claimants to join.
- Claimants represented by KP Law petitioned for a staged approach to accelerate bellwether trials, attempting to speed up resolutions for terminally ill plaintiffs.
- Kenvue UK has consistently denied that its baby powder products contain harmful asbestos, pledging to defend its historical safety record in English courts.
Mass Tort
The government is widening eligibility for its infected blood redress scheme — forcing the state to pay billions more to rapidly settle the NHS's worst medical disaster.
BackgroundThe infected blood scandal remains the worst treatment disaster in NHS history, leaving thousands infected with HIV and Hepatitis C. Parliament established the independent compensation authority to administer billions of pounds in state redress.
- The amendments introduce extra payments for individuals infected as children, acknowledging the lifelong health and educational disruptions caused by contaminated treatments.
- A new severe health condition category now covers chronic hepatitis-associated illnesses, expanding eligibility to patients previously excluded from major compensation tiers.
- The compensation authority is restructuring its internal processing workflows, aiming to resolve the backlog and complete outstanding payouts before the end of 2026.
Mass Tort
The Post Office's historic litigation scheme is closing — giving the remaining pioneer subpostmasters less than a week to claim their share of the £223M fund.
BackgroundThe Post Office Horizon scandal saw hundreds of innocent subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted due to an accounting software defect. The dedicated redress scheme was launched in 2023 to offer payouts to the original group who spearheaded the legal battle.
- Nearly 90% of eligible claimants have settled their cases, drawing more than £223M in compensation paid out by the government so far.
- Post Office Minister Blair McDougall has urged remaining eligible subpostmasters to submit applications immediately, warning that the scheme closes next week.
- The legal redress program is scheduled to conclude entirely by December, winding down a decade of high-profile litigation for the original claimant group.
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