New Orleans, Louisiana — Active Litigation Desk
Class actions, MDL mass torts, and defective product litigation. We run multiple concurrent campaigns with in-house intake, records retrieval, and a claimant portal — not a phone-bank operation.
Open Docket
Each entry below is a campaign currently accepting claimants. Click any card to expand eligibility criteria and required documents. Campaigns without an open filing window are listed for reference only.
MDL No. 2:25-md-04412 | E.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Serious cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure in patients prescribed Velantrix (generic: solantipan) for long-term anxiety management.
MDL No. 1:24-md-03887 | N.D. Ill.
Alleged Injury: Pedicle screw loosening, migration, and pseudoarthrosis requiring revision surgery in patients implanted with the OrthoFlex Lumbar Fusion System.
MDL No. 3:23-md-02991 | E.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Kidney disease, thyroid disorders, and elevated cancer risk in residents of Ascension and Iberville Parishes due to alleged PFAS discharge from BaronChem industrial facility.
Class Action No. 2:25-cv-01847 | E.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Flaking non-stick coating contaminating food and causing gastrointestinal harm; class seeks economic damages and refund for consumers who purchased affected BrightSeal cookware lines between 2021 and 2025.
Class Action No. 5:23-cv-00492 | W.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Exposure of protected health information (PHI) and Social Security numbers for 2.4 million patients. Settlement fund of $38 million approved. Claims administration open.
Pre-Litigation Investigation | No MDL designated yet
Alleged Injury: Collision injuries and property damage arising from alleged false-positive emergency braking events in vehicles equipped with the Guardian 3.0 advanced driver-assistance system, model years 2022–2025.
Class Action No. 2:24-cv-02261 | E.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Elevated leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma rates in residential communities within a 5-mile corridor of the Gulf Star St. Charles refinery, linked to alleged benzene air emissions from 2014 to 2023.
MDL No. 1:24-md-04100 | S.D.N.Y.
Alleged Injury: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and related cardiovascular complications in users of Dextoril (generic: fenoxipan), a GLP-receptor weight-management medication approved in 2021.
Medical notice: Do not discontinue Dextoril without physician guidance. Consult your doctor before making any changes to your medication regimen.
Class Action No. 3:25-cv-00781 | E.D. La.
Alleged Injury: Exposure of account numbers, routing data, and credit scores for 800,000+ customers in a 2024 ransomware incident. Class seeks statutory and actual damages under Louisiana data privacy law and the FCRA.
This docket reflects campaigns active as of the date of publication. Campaign status changes as litigation progresses. Contact us to confirm current status before submitting documents. Contacting this firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
5-Minute Screening
Answer a few questions and we'll tell you honestly whether we think you have a claim worth pursuing. This is not a binding assessment — eligibility is determined by a licensed attorney after reviewing your records, not by a website form.
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Know the Difference
Most people use the terms interchangeably, but they are structurally different vehicles with different consequences for how your case is valued and how you get paid. Understanding the distinction is the first thing any competent mass tort attorney should explain to you.
In a true class action, a single certified plaintiff class sues a defendant in one consolidated proceeding. All class members are bound by the same judgment or settlement. Individual damages are generally modest and uniform — the power of a class action is in aggregating volume to make litigation economically feasible against large corporate defendants.
Class actions are most effective where the harm is widespread but individually small: overcharged bank fees, data breach notification, deceptive consumer product marketing. Every class member gets the same settlement share (or a matrix-calculated variation) rather than individualized compensation for personal injury.
A Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) consolidates thousands of individually filed lawsuits before a single federal judge for pre-trial proceedings — discovery, expert testimony, bellwether trials — while preserving each plaintiff's individual case. Your injury, your medical history, your damages are evaluated separately.
MDLs dominate pharmaceutical and medical device litigation because individual damages vary dramatically. A claimant who suffered a minor side effect recovers differently from one who required open-heart surgery. Settlement is typically negotiated through a points-based matrix that assigns values to injury severity, age, duration of use, and other factors.
In class actions, the defendant pays a lump sum into a common fund. Attorney fees are awarded from that fund by the court — typically 25–33% — and the remainder is distributed to class members according to a plan of allocation. No individual negotiation. Distribution often involves a claims administrator.
MDL settlements typically use a points-based matrix. Points are assigned based on injury tier, duration of exposure, age at diagnosis, and documented medical treatment. Each point has a dollar value. More severe injuries score more points and receive larger individual awards from the aggregate settlement fund.
Contingency fees in mass tort MDLs are subject to court supervision. The court sets a common benefit assessment — typically 4–7% of each individual recovery — that compensates the PSC for work that benefits all plaintiffs. Your own counsel's fee is separate, negotiated in your individual retainer agreement, and must be disclosed.
Our Infrastructure
Mass tort litigation demands operational infrastructure most firms cannot maintain. We built ours deliberately over 18 years — not because scale is impressive, but because it's how we keep 4,000+ individual clients informed, properly documented, and positioned for maximum recovery.
Dedicated intake paralegals screen every call against current campaign criteria — no outsourced call center, no script hand-off. Initial intake calls are reviewed and followed up by a licensed attorney within 48 hours for all potentially qualifying claimants.
We maintain relationships with medical record retrieval services in 47 states and manage the HIPAA authorization and retrieval process on behalf of every retained claimant. Records are indexed, reviewed, and categorized against campaign-specific injury matrices before any claim is submitted.
Every retained client receives access to a secure online portal showing their case status, document checklist, pending deadlines, and direct messaging with their case team. Status updates are pushed automatically when litigation milestones occur. No waiting on hold to find out where your case stands.
We serve as lead or co-lead counsel on multiple MDL campaigns and maintain active co-counsel relationships with firms across Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida. Fee sharing is consistent with the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct and requires client consent. Qualified claimants are never turned away solely for geographic reasons.
Representative Outcomes
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is evaluated individually. Settlement amounts reflect the gross recovery before fees, costs, and liens.
Co-lead counsel role in 3,800-plaintiff MDL involving a discontinued cardiac drug linked to valvular heart disease. Settlement administered through a seven-tier injury matrix. No individual recovery amount guaranteed to any single claimant.
Certified class of 1,100 residential plaintiffs in Gulf Coast environmental contamination case. Settlement approved by the Eastern District of Louisiana; common fund administered by independent claims administrator.
Jury verdict in bellwether trial for implant failure in spinal fusion device MDL. Verdict helped establish liability framework that contributed to subsequent global MDL resolution. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Settlement on behalf of 180,000 checking account holders charged undisclosed maintenance fees over a four-year period. Class certification granted in the Middle District of Louisiana. Claims period completed.
Individual recovery for a single plaintiff in a pharmaceutical MDL under the settlement matrix highest injury tier — permanent cardiac damage requiring transplant evaluation. Disclosed with client consent. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Jury verdict for individual plaintiff injured by a defective consumer appliance in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Punitive damages awarded based on manufacturer's documented knowledge of the defect. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Leadership
Three-attorney leadership team with combined experience on nine MDL steering committees and over two decades of aggregate litigation practice.
Founding Partner
Danielle founded Meridian after a decade as plaintiff's co-lead in pharmaceutical MDLs. She has served on three MDL Plaintiff Steering Committees and argued before the JPML on transfer consolidation. Her practice is defined by treating mass tort litigation as a systems-management problem — intake rigor, records quality, and matrix optimization — not just courtroom presence.
Partner — MDL Strategy & Discovery
Thomas leads Meridian's MDL discovery and bellwether trial preparation. He has overseen document production in excess of 12 million pages across three MDL campaigns and served as lead settlement negotiator for two global resolutions. He is licensed in both Louisiana and Texas and regularly appears in the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana.
Partner — Class Certification & Environmental
Marcus concentrates on toxic tort and environmental class actions, with particular depth in benzene and PFAS contamination litigation along the Louisiana industrial corridor. He has argued and prevailed on class certification motions in seven proceedings and regularly coordinates with industrial hygienists and epidemiologists retained as testifying experts.
For Attorneys
Referring a client to a mass tort MDL is a genuine revenue channel — and one that is often underutilized by general practice and plaintiff's personal injury firms. Meridian actively seeks co-counsel and referral relationships with firms that encounter qualifying claimants but do not carry an active mass tort docket.
Meridian shares attorney fees with referring counsel consistent with Rule 1.5(e) of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct. Fee-sharing arrangements require written disclosure to and written consent from the client. We handle the paperwork. The division is proportionate to work performed and commensurate with the referring firm's contribution.
We welcome co-counsel arrangements with firms that want active involvement in the litigation rather than a pure referral. Co-counsel attorneys are assigned client-facing responsibilities appropriate to their litigation experience and capacity. Steering committee opportunities are shared where available.
Call our referring-attorney intake line at 504-555-0194 or email cocounsel@meridianmasstort.com. We will respond within one business day with a campaign-specific intake checklist. For clients who do not qualify for a current campaign, we will advise the referring firm and return the client promptly — no holdover.
Referring attorneys receive a secure portal login with read-only access to the status of every client they've referred. Milestone updates — filing, Plaintiff Fact Sheet completion, matrix scoring, and disbursement — are automatically forwarded to referring counsel by email.
In an MDL, no — you retain your individual case. It is transferred for pretrial coordination but remains yours. You can opt out of any global settlement and proceed to individual trial, though doing so comes with significant risk and cost. In a class action, you are bound by the class outcome unless you timely exercise your right to opt out, which is explicitly disclosed in the class notice. We explain both mechanisms in detail before you sign anything.
MDLs are measured in years, not months. From consolidation order to global settlement, a pharmaceutical MDL averages four to six years. Environmental class actions with contested class certification often run three to five years before a settlement. We will be honest with you about the realistic timeline for each campaign at intake. Anyone who promises you a resolution date is guessing.
Meridian works on a contingency basis — you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Our fee is a percentage of your individual recovery, set forth in your retainer agreement. In MDL proceedings, the court typically imposes a common benefit assessment of 4–7% of each individual recovery to compensate PSC attorneys for work done on behalf of all plaintiffs. This assessment is separate from and in addition to your individual counsel's contingency fee. Both are disclosed in writing before any agreement is signed.
This is the most common concern we hear, and it is usually not disqualifying. We have in-house records retrieval processes and relationships with medical record vendors across 47 states. Once you sign a HIPAA authorization, our team requests your records from the relevant facilities. Most healthcare providers must respond to record requests within 30 days. We index and evaluate those records against campaign eligibility criteria and advise you on the outcome.
You may generally discharge your attorney and retain new counsel at any time, but your prior attorney may have a claim for fees for work performed. We recommend you review your current retainer agreement before contacting us. We will not solicit clients who are represented by other counsel — if you contact us and disclose current representation, our honest advice is to speak directly with your current firm first about any concerns. If after that conversation you choose to make a change, we are here.
No. Submitting a claim review form or calling our office does not create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship is established only when a retainer agreement is signed by both you and Meridian. Our intake process — the initial call, records review, and preliminary eligibility assessment — is provided to you at no cost and without obligation.
Absolutely not. Never stop or alter a prescribed medication without your physician's instruction. Filing a legal claim and continuing your medical treatment are entirely independent. We explicitly state — in writing, in every intake document for pharmaceutical campaigns — that no claimant should change their treatment based on legal proceedings. Your health and your lawsuit are separate matters.
In an MDL, the court selects a small number of representative cases — "bellwethers" — to go to trial before the full docket is resolved. The purpose is to test legal theories, establish evidence admissibility rules, and give both sides a realistic view of jury verdicts. Bellwether outcomes heavily influence global settlement negotiations: if plaintiffs win substantial verdicts, the defendant's settlement posture often shifts toward resolution. If defendants prevail, plaintiff recovery amounts typically decrease. Bellwether cases are selected by the court, not self-selected by claimants.
Start Here
Complete the form below and a member of our intake team will contact you within one business day. You may also call us directly at 504-555-0193. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
