Mass torts are highly complex cases that involve defective devices, environmental contamination, and disastrous events all contributing to the intensity of the case. When personal injury is involved, medical records become a very important consideration along with the need for medical review solutions for attorneys handling such cases. Mass tort litigation involves reviewing huge volume data associated with many plaintiffs. Law firms, lawyers, and courts rely on data analytics to understand the intricate case details. In fact, data analytics can enhance the decision-making capability of attorneys in mass tort litigation.
How is data analytics useful in mass tort litigation?
- Data analytics enables optimum use of available data. The true value of data lies in how it is utilized. Data analytics helps identify trends in the data and this in turn facilitates a better understanding of the case in hand. Comprehensive analytics will provide meaningful insights that are valuable for the attorney.
- Now data visualization tools are available that help data analysts present data sets in easily accessible formats such as maps, charts, and graphics. Attorneys are more comfortable with these formats rather than complex tables and a number of pages of columns and numbers.
- Data can be analyzed on more granular levels and also across larger data sets by virtue of computing power. Estimating the relevancy of a new piece of information to the existing mass tort or building an improved predictive model has become easier and more efficient. Since multiple applications can quickly summarize large volume data on the fly, attorneys can more easily access the results of multiple settings.
- Data analytics applied to the mass tort field could help predict details such as the potential size of the claimant population, the probability of a particular lawsuit to be successful, the possible range for settlement values and so on. Attorneys can have an idea regarding the cases that are likely to receive compensation, as well as regarding future cash flows.
Data scientists who are involved in investigating data to identify trends in mass tort cases will perform a comprehensive analysis to determine if the trends are real. They typically employ statistical methods to verify these trends and also identify missing or wrong data. Then they create a visualization of the observed trends that easily illustrate the findings in the form of a graph, chart or map. The statistical models prepared will help understand the increase or decrease in the number of specific types of lawsuits filed, as for example, asbestos or mesothelioma filings.
Mass tort attorneys, providers of medical record retrieval services that assist attorneys, and paralegals understand the relevance of predictive models and valuation models of data in mass tort litigation. While raw data is static, analysis and visualization of data make it dynamic and provide actionable insights for mass tort lawyers. They get to better comprehend and leverage the information presented to them. It helps them make more informed decisions as regards reducing risks and maximizing settlement amounts for their injured clients.
