Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation

Complex product liability and mass tort litigation is increasingly a high-stakes proposition. Ranked as a top national firm in Chambers USA (2023) and The Legal 500 (2022), the product liability and mass tort team at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP appreciates that excessive verdicts or public relations miscues can trigger market analyses with dire consequences and threaten a company’s stellar business reputation. From the time a potential business risk is identified until the matter’s conclusion, depth of experience in crisis management, risk mitigation and veteran trial lawyers are essential to the development of a comprehensive and winning defense strategy. Our product liability and mass tort litigation practice provides clients the advice and counsel needed to develop a business strategy to avoid litigation where appropriate, and the talent and experience required to engage and resolve litigation where necessary.  Our lawyers provide critical risk assessments and advise manufacturer and retail clients on other liability issues, including regulatory compliance, product recalls, product failure events, labeling, warnings and warranties.

Product Claims and Catastrophic Injury

Our product liability litigators and trial lawyers defend a broad variety of complex tort litigation, including multi-plaintiff suits, multidistrict litigation, class actions, and individual plaintiff cases involving all types of products.  Our representations have included a variety of industries, including manufacturers of automobiles, pharmaceutical and medical devices, consumer products, industrial equipment, military and defense equipment, building materials, and chemicals.  Our litigators have defended companies involved in every stage of the product chain, including engineering firms, raw material suppliers, component part manufacturers, retailers and distributors.  Our partnering capabilities start at the product development phase, and extend through every phase of litigation.    

Toxic Torts

Our trial lawyers have litigated cases involving toxic torts, environmental liability, product liability, occupational injuries and public nuisance, among others, with substantial experience defending claims involving allegations of cancer, neurologic harm and other long-latency diseases. We have handled cases involving air, water, soil and fire/explosion-related exposures and mass evacuations in which the facets of regulatory compliance, public relations and litigation issues are intertwined. We have defended claims alleging exposure from a range of chemicals and natural-occurring substances, including asbestos, arsenic, cadmium, dioxin, formaldehyde, kepone, pentaborane, benzene, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), CCA-treated wood, Chinese drywall, cigarette smoke, diesel fumes, fluorides, pesticides, radioactive materials, silica, synthetic stucco, talc, toxic mold, tobacco and wood dust.

Asbestos Litigation

Our lawyers have been defending large industrial companies, manufacturers, retailers and distributors in asbestos litigation for decades.  We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and trial counsel in premises and product liability matters for a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, consumer products, building materials, aluminum, automotive brakes and shipbuilding, to name a few.  We have defended product liability claims, direct occupational exposure cases, bystander claims and para-occupational (or “take home” cases) and have represented defendants in cases involving all types of asbestos fibers.  Further, our asbestos lawyers have been at the forefront of national strategic initiatives, serving as liaisons between counsel and the MDL and various courts, and leading high-profile appeals, federal, state and local policy efforts, and major tort reform initiatives.

Trial Lawyers

Clients engage us to represent them as national and lead trial counsel in industry-wide matters, multidistrict litigation and bet-the-company cases. We have tried cases to verdict, both jury and bench, from California to Florida, from Texas to Virginia, and in Maryland and New York. We have defended high profile products liability and toxic tort cases around the country and the Virgin Islands, including the most renowned plaintiff-friendly venues  and jurisdictions known as “Judicial Hellholes.”

Broad Network and Appellate Advocates

To complement our litigation resources, our product liability and mass tort litigation practice has assembled a broad and reliable network of local counsel in jurisdictions around the country who offer insight on the idiosyncrasies and propensities of local judges and jurors. We have also assembled an impressive network of expert witnesses in every key specialty who serve as consultants and testifying experts. We defend cases with an eye on the appellate process, utilizing experienced appellate lawyers who not only handle appeals, but also assist the trial team in preserving matters for review by higher courts. Critically, we team with in-house counsel to accomplish the results deemed consistent with the client’s overall business, litigation, regulatory and public relations objectives.

With offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, Hunton Andrews Kurth has a wealth of experienced product liability and mass tort lawyers available to provide advice and counsel or litigation services in jurisdictions where our clients have business operations and where a dispute is pending. We offer cost-effective and competitively priced legal services, which can include fixed fees, alternative fees, flat fees, blended rates or other appropriate cost-control mechanisms best suited for the matter in dispute.