Filing a lawsuit of any kind is a scary process for the average person. But when you add the prospect of a class-action or mass-tort lawsuit, that’s an even bigger challenge because most of the time it means a consumer will be going up against a huge corporation that wants to avoid a huge settlement or verdict at all costs.
That’s why it’s so important to have a qualified expert on your side in your attempt to seek justice for damages you suffered as a result of the actions of a company, organization, or even a government agency. Sorting through the options is easier said than done, though, especially in Virginia, which is home to nearly 25,000 practicing attorneys.
Use this list to help you decide which firms may be the best partner for you as you consider your options, and remember that in most cases, you won’t have to pay legal fees unless you win your case and initial consultations are free—so it can’t hurt to find out what your options might be.
1. Marks & Harrison
1500 Forest Ave Rm. 100, Richmond, VA 23229
Practice Areas: Class Action, Personal Injury, Dangerous Drugs, Workers’ Compensation
Firm Size: Medium
Marks & Harrison was founded in 1911, making it one of the oldest continuously operating law firms in the Commonwealth of Virginia. However, the firm has maintained its medium size, which is key to giving Marks & Harrison attorneys a chance to ensure all cases get their personal attention. In addition to handling class-action cases across a range of areas, attorneys with this Richmond-based firm specialize in personal injury, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death cases.
Among the potential class-action and mass-tort lawsuits that attorneys with Marks & Harrison are pursuing include dangerous medications like Elmiron, Xarelto, Lipitor, Zofran, and Risperdal, as well as defective or harmful medical devices like metal-on-metal hip implants, bladders slings and transvaginal mesh, and Infuse bone grafts.
2. Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein
12350 Jefferson Ave, Newport News, VA 23602
Practice Areas: Class Action, Asbestos and Mesothelioma, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice
Firm Size: Medium
PWHD began its life as Patten & Wornom in 1954, and though it’s grown over the years and gained a couple of new initials. Since early in its practice, attorneys with the firm have focused on a particular area of class-action and mass-tort cases — asbestos-related illness. Attorneys with PWHD won their first asbestos-related case in 1978, and the firm was responsible for establishing the first national settlement program with asbestos companies in 1991.
In addition to handling asbestos and mesothelioma claims, PWHD attorneys are actively pursuing and investigating potential lawsuits related to asbestos contamination of talc-based products, which have been connected to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
3. Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers
200 Kellam Rd #101, Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Practice Areas: Class Action, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Roundup
Firm Size: Small
Cooper Hurley is a small firm that boasts a broad reach across the commonwealth, thanks to locations in Chesapeake, Eastern Shore, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach (main office). While many of the firm’s biggest victories have come from personal-injury cases, attorneys with Cooper Hurley have also handled claims related to defective and dangerous products, and they specialize in Roundup weedkiller cases.
Developed by the Monsanto, Roundup is the best-selling weedkiller in history, but in more recent years studies have linked the chemical glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In addition to Roundup cases, attorneys with the firm are pursuing claims related to medications like Risperdal and Xarelto and consumer products like talcum powder, among others.
4. Phelan Petty
3315 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23230
Practice Areas: Class Action, Medical Malpractice, Dangerous Drugs, Defective Medical Devices, Dangerous Products
Firm Size: Small
Phelan Petty is a small firm based in Richmond whose primary practice areas include individual and mass lawsuits covering areas like medical malpractice, dangerous drugs, and defective medical devices. Many of the firm’s most prominent cases are in the area of medical malpractice, a topic close to the heart of founding partner Michael Phelan, the father of a child who suffered birth-related brain injuries.
In addition to medical malpractice cases, attorneys at the firm are pursuing potential class-action cases related to medications like Zantac, Actos, Belviq, Risperdal, Zyprexa, and Valsartan, as well as defective medical devices including IUDs, hernia mesh, IVC filters, and hip implants.
5. The Moody Law Firm, Inc.
500 Crawford St, Portsmouth, VA 23704
Practice Areas: Class Action, Mass Torts, Personal Injury, Railroad Workers, Mesothelioma
Firm Size: Small
The Moody Law Firm was founded in 1958 in Portsmouth, and today its primary practice areas include railroad accidents, workers’ compensation, class-action lawsuits, and mesothelioma litigation. The firm’s work on behalf of railroad workers has helped garner settlements and verdicts that total tens of millions of dollars.
In addition to a primary focus on cases related to injuries suffered by rail workers, attorneys at the Moody Law Firm are pursuing asbestos-related claims on behalf of current or former rail workers, who have historically had higher rates of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure. This includes machinists, boiler operators, electricians, and pipefitters, among others.
6. Marcari, Russotto, Spencer & Balaban
501 Baylor Ct #200, Chesapeake, VA 23320
Practice Areas: Class Action, Mass Torts, Dangerous Drugs, Defective Medical Devices, Personal Injury
Firm Size: Medium
MRSB is a medium-sized firm based in Chesapeake that boasts a wide regional reach. In addition to its main office, MRSB has five other offices in Virginia (Alexandria, Newport News, Richmond, Roanoke, and Virginia Beach), an office in West Virginia, four in South Carolina, three in Ohio, and seven in North Carolina. Combined, the attorneys at MRSB have more than 200 years of legal experience.
Among the firm’s class-action and mass-tort experience are cases related to defective medical devices, dangerous drugs, environmental contamination, defective car parts, e-cigarettes, Roundup, asbestos, and more. Attorneys at the firm have won tens of millions of dollars in settlements, verdicts, and judgments for individual and group clients.
7. Crandall & Katt
366 Elm Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24016
Practice Areas: Class Action, Personal Injury, Traffic Accident, Product Liability, Dangerous Drugs, Multijurisdictional Litigation (MDL)
Firm Size: Small
Crandall & Katt was founded in 1979, and over the past four decades, the firm’s focus has been squarely on individuals injured by the actions of others, be they other individuals or corporations. The attorneys in this small, Roanoke-based firm have a combined century’s worth of legal experience they bring to each and every case.
In addition to personal injury cases, both individual and mass claims, attorneys with Crandall & Katt are pursuing and investigating cases related to defective automotive parts like seatbelts and airbags, dangerous drugs like Zoloft, Yaz, and Lipitor, and defective medical devices.
8. Michie Hamlett
310 4th St NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
Practice Areas: Class Action, Asbestos, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Personal Injury
Firm Size: Medium
Michie Hamlett is a midsized firm that was founded more than 70 years ago in Charlottesville. Today, Michie Hamlett operates three offices in the commonwealth — Charlottesville, Richmond, and Roanoke, and one of its most frequent areas of litigation is in asbestos-related cases.
Attorneys at Michie Hamlett have handled and are actively pursuing asbestos-related cases on behalf of asbestos workers and consumers who may have been exposed to the toxic substance through their use of talc-based products. Recent verdicts and settlements have run the gamut from a $5.5 million medical malpractice verdict to a $2.8 million personal injury settlement.
9. Webster Book LLP
300 N Washington St Suite 404, Alexandria, VA 22314
Practice Areas: Class Action, Consumer Protection, Asbestos, Defective Products, Faulty Autos
Firm Size: Small
Webster Book is a two-person firm based in Alexandria that focuses, among other areas, on helping defend individuals against the bad acts of major corporations. To this end, the firm’s two attorneys specialized in class-action lawsuits related to defective vehicles and automobile parts, dangerous drugs, consumer protection, and more.
The firm is actively pursuing and investigating potential individual or class-action cases covering defective Takata airbags, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi and Volkswagen timing chain defects, Volkswagen emissions fraud, banking-law violations, and other consumer class actions. Another main focus of the firm’s class-action work is in taking on claims about violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
10. Pendleton Law Team
www.virginiasinjurylawyers.com
1506 Staples Mill Rd Suite 101, Richmond, VA 23230
Practice Areas: Class Action, Mass Torts, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Defective Products
Firm Size: Medium
Pendleton Law Team is a midsized firm with its headquarters in Richmond. In addition to its main office, the firm also has locations in Chesterfield, Petersburg, Norfolk, and Wytheville. While the primary focus of the firm is on individual personal injury cases, Pendleton attorneys have also handled mass-tort and class-action cases in a variety of areas.
Attorneys with the firm are actively pursuing and investigating potential cases related to defective IVC filters and the blood thinner Xarelto, among many other areas of interest. Pendleton Law Team does not represent corporations or insurance companies, and their work is devoted entirely to ensuring that individuals and consumers get a fair shake.
