“We carefully evaluate each mass tort claim and determine which law firm would best represent our clients. We are always availa- ble to provide guidance and advice to our cli- ents on how to address on the current status of their mass tort claim.” In This Issue Mass Torts and Class Action Lawsuits What’s Happening at T & E? Employee of the Month Legal Lingo New Website Recipe of the Month We frequently receive calls from clients who have seen an ad on television about Risperdal, Vaginal Mesh, Xarelto, or other mass tort claims. Oſten, those clients have either suffered an injury as a result of the product or know someone who has. Be- cause the ads on television are less than helpful, clients have quesons and need answers. Mass torts and class acons are very different types of lawsuits. Let’s take a look: A class acon lawsuit is a single lawsuit brought by an individual on behalf of a much larger group. Basically, a class acon lawsuit involves a single plain- ff who acts as a representave of a large class of individuals who have been injured in a similar fashion and who have damages that are similar. In a mass tort claim, numerous individuals from across a region or the coun- try file individual lawsuits for the injuries they have sustained, for example, as a result of a defecve product. Each claim remains separate, but joined for certain elements of the ligaon process. The mass tort claims are some- mes gathered into a single court for purposes of compleng discovery, the part of the lawsuit where both sides exchange informaon, and/or for sele- ment. Again, in the class acon circumstance, there is typically a single lawsuit whereas in the mass tort circumstance, there are many, many lawsuits across a region. So, how do you find a competent aorney to address your claim? There are a number of different types of aorneys who are involved in the mass tort process. Some, you should hire and others you should absolutely avoid. The first group of aorneys involved in this process, I call The Adversers. These aorneys frequently run naonal adversing campaigns urging you to dial a 1-800 number if you have been injured by a parcular product. Many, not all, of these ad- versers have never stepped foot in a courtroom and never ligat- The newsletter of Tapella & Eberspacher LLC October 2015 Cont. on page 3 What is a Mass Tort? By Attorney Bill Tapella
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The newsletter of Tapella & Eberspacher LLC What …...The Tapella & Eberspacher team participated in The Injury Board’s 2nd Annual Day of Action on September 15th. The Injury Board
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“We carefully evaluate
each mass tort claim
and determine which
law firm would best
represent our clients.
We are always availa-
ble to provide guidance
and advice to our cli-
ents on how to address
on the current status of
their mass tort claim.”
In This Issue
Mass Torts and Class
Action Lawsuits
What’s Happening at
T & E?
Employee of the Month
Legal Lingo
New Website
Recipe of the Month
We frequently receive calls from clients who have seen an ad on television about Risperdal, Vaginal Mesh, Xarelto, or other mass tort claims. Often, those clients have either suffered an injury as a result of the product or know someone who has. Be-cause the ads on television are less than helpful, clients have questions and need answers. Mass torts and class actions are very different types of lawsuits. Let’s take a look:
A class action lawsuit is a single lawsuit brought by an individual on behalf of a much larger group. Basically, a class action lawsuit involves a single plain-tiff who acts as a representative of a large class of individuals who have been injured in a similar fashion and who have damages that are similar.
In a mass tort claim, numerous individuals from across a region or the coun-try file individual lawsuits for the injuries they have sustained, for example, as a result of a defective product. Each claim remains separate, but joined for certain elements of the litigation process. The mass tort claims are some-times gathered into a single court for purposes of completing discovery, the part of the lawsuit where both sides exchange information, and/or for settle-ment.
Again, in the class action circumstance, there is typically a single lawsuit whereas in the mass tort circumstance, there are many, many lawsuits across a region. So, how do you find a competent attorney to address your claim? There are a number of different types of attorneys who are involved in the mass tort process. Some, you should hire and others you should absolutely avoid.
The first group of attorneys involved in this process, I call The Advertisers. These attorneys frequently run national advertising campaigns urging you to dial a 1-800 number if you have been injured by a particular product. Many, not all, of these ad-vertisers have never stepped foot in a courtroom and never litigat-
The newsletter of Tapella & Eberspacher LLC October 2015
Cont. on page 3
What is a Mass Tort? By Attorney Bill Tapella
The Tapella & Eberspacher team participated in The Injury Board’s
2nd Annual Day of Action on September 15th. The Injury Board is a
professional association of trial attorneys who pool their time, talents
and resources to expand the footprint of grassroots organizations in
an effort to strengthen their communities. “These folks have the kind-
est, most generous souls and I’m so proud to be a member. I always
know in my heart that I want to give back to our community. The Day
of Action carves out time for me to make sure I do that,” said Rakers.
For the 2015 Day of Action, the T& E team visited the Ronald
McDonald House in Springfield, Illinois to cook lunch for the residents.
They brought with them over $1000 in
Wish List items donated by communi-
ty partners. They also supplied the
house with hospital “go-bags,” includ-
ing an amenities kit and kids activities
for new arrivals to the house.
Since 1974, the Ronald McDonald
House Charities Network of Local
Chapters have been working to keep families together by giving them
a place to stay while their child undergoes medical treatments for an
illness or serious injury. Nearly nine million families are helped by the
Ronald McDonald House Charities each year. “The RHMC does so
much good for so many families who are
facing a frightening and overwhelming time,”
said Hampton, “we were just glad to have
the opportunity to support their efforts and
bring a little joy to the families.”
T & E Employee of the Month
Bo Willoughby has been a
part of the Tapella &
Eberspacher team since 2000,
when she accepted a position
assisting David Eberspacher.
Since 2006, she has been
the legal assistant to Bill Tapel-
la. Bo is a native of Charleston,
Illinois and she earned her As-
sociates Degree in Legal Ad-
ministrative Assistance.
Bo stays very active outside
the office and enjoys support-
ing important causes around
the Mattoon, Illinois communi-
ty. As a supporter of St. Jude
Children’s Hospital she has
participated in the Mattoon to
Peoria run to fight childhood
cancer.
Bo has a passion for music
and enjoys singing at her
church. She also enjoys being
physically active- especially
through Muay Thai kickboxing,
riding dirt bikes, and target
shooting on her family farm;
but her greatest loves are her
husband, Jon; her three chil-
dren, and six grandchildren.
Bo Willoughby
(L to R): Jacob Smallhorn, Dan Jones, Alex Heritier, Andrew Koester, Angela Hamp-ton, Angel Wawrzynek, and Lindsay Rakers.
Legal Lingo
Plaintiff
A person or entity who files a lawsuit, in a court of law, against another per-son or entity.
For example, in a personal injury case, the injured person files the lawsuit, and is thus the “plaintiff.”
Defendant
A person or entity being sued in a court of law.
For example, in a motor vehicle case, the “defendant” is the individual who caused the collision.
Is there a legal term that you don’t under-stand and would like to see explained in
Legal Lingo?
Contact Angela,
T & E Marketing Manager, at
855-522-5291
ed a case. Indeed, these advertisers are seeking your phone call so they can then sell your name and information to another attorney who actually practices law in that area. You are not a client, you are a lead. Leads frequently sell for hundreds of dollars, without regard to whether you ever sign up with a real attorney or not. These advertisers do not provide legal services and will not assist you through the process.
The second group of attorneys is what I call The Real Deal. There are a very limited number of attorneys around the country who legitimately litigate mass tort claims. We work with a number of those firms. These law firms have invest-ed hundreds of thousands of dollars in the investigation of claims, the product at issue and the nature of the injuries sustained by people who use that product. They are prepared to litigate those cases to trial. However, even among The Real Deal attorneys, some firms are better than others. Within the mass tort area, the courts will frequently appoint committees of plaintiffs’ attorneys who repre-sent the entire group of attorneys who may have clients in that area. You will have very little access to information to determine whether your attorney is a member of the committee or just a member of the group being represented by the committee.
Finally, there are law firms like ours. We are knowledgeable about the mass tort process and able to advise our clients as to that process. Because we repre-sent a number of clients in a number of different mass tort areas, the Real Deal law firms are responsive to our phone calls and to our inquiries. Those law firms pay us a referral fee, a portion of the fee that they would otherwise receive, to send our clients to them. Our referral fee is determined by the size of the verdict obtained for our clients. There is no additional cost to the client– we simply get a share of that fee for our work with the client. As such, like our clients, we have an interest in maximizing the return for those people that we represent.
Given our relationship with our clients, and our relationship with other law firms, we carefully evaluate each mass tort claim and determine which law firm would best represent our clients. We don’t just send our clients off as a “lead.” We maintain a file for the case and regularly follow up with the attorney to whom we referred the client. We are always available to provide guidance and advice to our clients on how to address the current status of their mass tort claim and the status of the attorney’s work for them. We are copied on all corre-spondence and most pleadings in those files, and are able to explain and work with our clients to understand what is happening with their claim. As such, while we receive a referral fee, we also provide a very real service to our clients in this area of the law.
If you have suffered an injury as a result of a mass tort and have questions about how to locate the right attorney, contact us at www.TapellaLaw.com or call our office for a free consultation at 855-522-5291.
New Website We are excited to announce the launch of our new website:
http://www.TapellaLaw.com. Our T & E family agreed that the change
would better reflect who we are. Along with the new name comes a fun,
easy-to-navigate new design! You can find Frequently Asked Questions,
interesting articles, bios of our attorneys, and much more! Want to talk
to someone after hours? Just visit the site and click ‘YES’ when our
‘Chat Now’ box pops up. We’re here for you 24-hours a day!
Grated parmesan cheese Saute chicken in olive oil– sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set chicken aside. Cook pas-ta according to directions. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half and trim and blanche the asparagus (alternatively, put the trimmed asparagus in with the pasta for the last 2-3 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Heat oil in large pan. Saute garlic 1-2 minutes. Add pasta, chicken, asparagus and tomatoes. Saute 1 minute, add parme-san cheese and saute one more minute. Add pasta water if mixture is too thick. You may choose to add some Balsamic Vinagrette for added flavor.
Chef of the Month Our chef of the month is Tapella & Eberspacher Marketing Manager, Angela Hampton. Angela looks for fast and easy dishes that incorporate healthy, seasonal veggies. She loves her crock pots, but keeps ingredients on-hand for this quick pasta primavera on busy nights. Angela cooks for her husband, John and their three daughters.