Mass torts your PI firm is probably missing

Quick — name every active federal MDL you can think of.

Ozempic. Camp Lejeune. Maybe talc. Maybe hernia mesh. You probably got to five or six before you stalled.

There are 158 active MDL dockets right now. Nearly 198,000 pending actions across 46 federal districts. The 25 largest MDLs account for 95% of those cases — which means the other 133 MDLs fly under the radar. Your radar.

Here's the thing: the clients tied to those overlooked MDLs are already calling your firm. They're showing up as slip-and-falls, workers' comp, med mal intakes. You're screening them for one thing and missing another. Every week.

These are the ones hiding in your pipeline.

Hair Relaxer — MDL-3060

What it is: Women who used chemical hair straightening products and developed uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, or endometriosis.

Who walks in the door: A client with a cancer diagnosis mentions it during a PI consult. You never ask about hair care products — why would you?

The numbers: 11,440 pending cases. Projected individual payouts: $150,000 to $1,000,000+ for strong cancer cases. First trial expected early 2027.

PFAS / AFFF Firefighting Foam — MDL-2873

What it is: Firefighters, military personnel, and residents near contaminated water exposed to PFAS "forever chemicals" through firefighting foam. Claims include kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and thyroid disease.

Who walks in the door: A retired firefighter calling about a disability claim. A veteran asking about benefits. A family near a military base with unexplained cancers. None of them mention PFAS.

The numbers: 15,220 pending cases — 99% growth since January 2025. Water contamination settlements already exceed $12.2 billion. Individual cancer claims projected at $200,000 to $1,000,000. Zero personal injury settlements paid yet. First-mover territory.

Paraquat — MDL-3004

What it is: Agricultural workers and rural residents exposed to the herbicide paraquat who later developed Parkinson's disease.

Who walks in the door: A client with a Parkinson's diagnosis. Maybe they're calling about a workplace injury or a disability issue. They mention they worked on a farm. You move on. You shouldn't.

The numbers: 6,542 pending cases. A Philadelphia bellwether settled confidentially in January 2026 right before opening statements — strong signal. Estimated settlements: $100,000 to $1,000,000 depending on disease severity and exposure documentation.

Social Media Youth Addiction — MDL-3047

What it is: Claims that platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube were deliberately designed to addict minors, causing depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide.

Who walks in the door: A parent calling about their teenager. Maybe a school-related injury. Maybe a family law referral. They mention their kid was hospitalized for self-harm. You don't ask about screen time.

The numbers: 2,407+ federal cases consolidated, hundreds more in state courts. First state bellwether — KGM v. Meta & YouTube — started February 2026. Federal trials expected late 2026. Defendants include Meta, Google, Snap, TikTok, and ByteDance. Deep pockets.

Depo-Provera — MDL-3140

What it is: Women who received the Depo-Provera birth control injection and developed meningioma brain tumors.

Who walks in the door: A woman with a brain tumor diagnosis reaching out about a medical malpractice case. She doesn't connect it to a contraceptive she took years ago. Neither do you.

The numbers: 3,490 pending cases — and this MDL was only formed in February 2025. It's growing fast. First bellwether trial scheduled December 2026. Projected settlements: $75,000 to $1,000,000+. Expert depositions on general causation are happening right now.

Paragard IUD — MDL-2974

What it is: The Paragard copper IUD breaking apart during removal, causing device fragments to migrate, perforate organs, or require surgical extraction.

Who walks in the door: A client with complications from an IUD removal. She's calling about medical bills. She doesn't know it's part of a federal MDL.

The numbers: 3,926 pending cases. Bellwether trials ongoing in 2026. No global settlement yet, but additional bellwether outcomes this year will shape the numbers. Thousands of women don't know they have a case.

The pattern is obvious

These aren't obscure edge cases. Hair products. Birth control. Herbicides. Social media. Firefighting foam. These are everyday products used by everyday people — the same people already sitting in your waiting room.

The issue isn't that these cases don't exist. It's that your intake process isn't built to catch them. You ask about the accident. You ask about the injury. You don't ask about the birth control shot from 2019 or the weed killer on the farm.

You don't have to.

Screen every intake. Automatically.

MDL Match checks every case narrative against all 158+ active federal MDLs. Paste your intake notes, get ranked matches in seconds. No training. No new workflow. Just cases you would have missed — flagged before they walk out the door.

You never know what you left on the table. Start screening today.