Over 90,000 people alleging sexual abuse while involved with the Boy Scouts of America. More than 100,000 individuals claiming injuries from Purdue Pharma LP due to the opioid epidemic. A total of 246,831 Allergan BIOCELL breast implants recalled in the United States. See also Order at 6, In re: Allergan BIOCELL Textured Breast Implant Prod. Liab. Litig., 2:19-md-2921 (D.N.J. March 19, 2021) (hereinafter “Preemption Order”). Over 4.4 million customers without power across Texas during a cold weather storm. An $11 billion settlement for 100,000 individuals attributing their non-Hodgkins lymphoma diagnoses to the herbicide RoundUp. When a large corporation or other entities engage in courses of action (or inaction) that harm hundreds or thousands of individuals, “mass tort” litigation inevitably results. FJC, Manual for Complex Litig. (4th ed. 2004) at 342-44 (a mass tort emerges “when an event or series of related events injure a large number of people or damage their property”). This column provides a quarterly update on some of the latest developments in these massive, complex cases. This edition discusses the mass tort litigations involving Elmiron, Allergan, Boy Scouts, Purdue and the February 2021 Texas power outages.

The Elmiron Eye Injury Litigation Is Heating Up. An up-and-coming mass tort backed by particularly strong science involves Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium), the only FDA approved oral medication for the treatment of chronic bladder pain, known as interstitial cystitis, and the drug’s connection to vision injuries. Wang et al., Pentosan-Associated Maculopathy: Prevalence, Screening Guidelines, and Spectrum of Findings Based on Prospective Multimodal Analysis, 55(2) Can. J. Opthalmol. 116, 116 (January 2020). In 2018, researchers from Emory University and the Baylor College of Medicine reported “a previously undescribed and possibly preventable maculopathy related to chronic exposure to [Elmiron].” Pearce et al., Pigmentary Maculopathy Associated with Chronic Exposure to Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium, 125(11) Opthalmol. 1793, 1801 (November 2018). The researchers warned that clinicians should be aware of the visual issues associated with Elmiron use because these conditions “can be mistaken for other well-known macular disorders … .” Id. Subsequent studies have supported the link between Elmiron use and visual harm, resulting in lawsuits which have been consolidated into multi-district litigation before U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti for the District of New Jersey. In re Elmiron (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium) Prods. Liab. Litig., 2:20-md-02973 (D.N.J.)