Emerging Mass-Tort Monitor — October 2026

Mass torts can develop when large numbers of individuals allege similar injuries arising from the same product, substance, practice or course of conduct. Unlike a traditional class action, individual mass-tort claims generally remain separate, but they may be coordinated through federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), state-court proceedings or other case-management structures.¹ As the number of claims grows, these matters can create significant challenges involving defense coordination, reserving, legal spend, coverage and long-term exposure.

For insurers and claims organizations, the challenge is often recognizing when isolated claims or emerging liability theories are beginning to develop mass-tort characteristics. New scientific findings, regulatory actions, coordinated litigation, adverse rulings or accelerating claimant activity can all signal that an exposure deserves closer review before it reaches mature mass-tort scale.

Alan Gray’s Emerging Mass-Tort Monitor provides a monthly view of developing exposures, highlighting meaningful changes in litigation activity, case volume and other indicators of rising risk. The Monitor focuses on developments that could influence claim severity, reserving, litigation strategy and legal spend.

Key Takeaways

• Several exposures accelerated during September. Social-media adolescent-addiction litigation increased approximately 19% in one month, Uber passenger sexual-assault litigation increased about 7%, and the GLP-1 NAION/vision proceeding grew more than 14%.²
• Other large proceedings showed considerably less monthly growth. Depo-Provera and the GLP-1 gastrointestinal MDL were nearly flat between September 1 and October 1, although both remain substantially above beginning-of-year levels.²
• New coordinated proceedings expanded the emerging-risk watchlist. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created separate federal MDLs involving Abbott and Nevro spinal cord stimulators and a new Apple AirTag products-liability MDL on October 2.³

Emerging Mass-Tort Exposure Tracker

The following table provides a snapshot of selected exposures currently being tracked by Alan Gray. It compares current federal MDL inventories with prior-month, year-to-date and one-year levels where comparable data are available, while also identifying the current monitoring status of each exposure. The purpose is not to rank potential liability, but to highlight areas where litigation activity or other developments deserve closer attention from insurers and claims organizations.

Federal MDL figures are based on Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending-action data through October 1, 2026. Monthly comparisons use September 1, 2026 as the baseline, year-to-date comparisons use January 5, 2026, and one-year comparisons use October 1, 2025.²

What Changed Since September

New and Emerging

Spinal Cord Stimulators

Litigation involves allegations that implanted devices used to treat chronic pain malfunctioned, failed or caused complications requiring additional treatment or revision procedures. Boston Scientific already had a coordinated proceeding with 41 pending actions as of October 1, and on October 2 the JPML created separate MDLs involving Abbott Laboratories and Nevro. The Abbott proceeding involved 15 actions in six districts, with 11 additional related actions reported to the Panel; the Nevro proceeding involved 17 actions, with six additional related actions identified.³

Apple AirTags

AirTag litigation alleges that Apple’s location-tracking devices were used by third parties to stalk, monitor or harass individuals without their consent. On October 2, the JPML created a federal products-liability MDL centralizing 17 actions from 13 districts, with another 12 related actions reported.⁴

Accelerating

Three exposures showed particularly strong monthly growth. Social-media adolescent-addiction litigation increased 19.2%, Uber passenger sexual-assault litigation increased 7.1%, and GLP-1 NAION/vision litigation increased 14.4% between September 1 and October 1.²

Showing Less Momentum

Depo-Provera increased by only nine pending actions during September, while the GLP-1 gastrointestinal MDL increased by three. These relatively flat monthly inventories do not mean the exposures are disappearing. Depo-Provera remains approximately 266% above its beginning-of-year inventory, while GLP-1 GI remains approximately 31% higher YTD. Pending MDL inventories also can decline or remain flat because of dismissals, settlements, remands and other dispositions.²

Developments to Watch

Social Media Adolescent Addiction

Social-media adolescent-addiction litigation recorded the strongest monthly increase among the larger exposures tracked in the Monitor, reaching 3,824 pending federal actions, up approximately 19% in one month, 71% YTD and 86% over the past year.² The broader legal environment also continues to develop. In September, Alabama reached the first state settlement with TikTok over allegations involving teen safety and addictive platform features. The agreement calls for at least $100 million in payments and new youth-safety measures, while similar state litigation remains pending elsewhere.⁵

• Why it matters: rapid federal claim growth combined with state enforcement activity could increase the complexity of defense strategy, coverage analysis, reserving and long-term exposure assessment.

Uber Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation

Uber passenger sexual-assault litigation reached 4,916 pending federal actions, up approximately 7% in one month, 60% YTD and 81% over the past year.² The proceeding remains active on discovery and evidentiary issues, including recent expert-production activity and disputes over forensic examination and metadata.⁶

• Why it matters: continued inventory growth can increase demands involving defense coordination, settlement strategy, reserving and legal-spend management across a large coordinated claim population.

GLP-1 Litigation

The two GLP-1 proceedings are showing increasingly different patterns. The gastrointestinal MDL had 4,025 pending actions as of October 1, essentially unchanged from September but still up approximately 31% YTD. The separate NAION/vision proceeding increased from 216 to 247 pending actions, up approximately 14% in one month and 752% YTD.²

• Why it matters: different growth patterns across injury theories reinforce the need to monitor the composition of GLP-1 litigation rather than aggregate volume alone. Separate alleged injuries can create distinct scientific, causation, valuation and defense issues.

Spinal Cord Stimulator Litigation

Spinal cord stimulator litigation has become a more significant emerging mass-tort signal. Boston Scientific’s existing MDL had 41 pending actions as of October 1. One day later, the JPML established separate proceedings for Abbott Laboratories and Nevro spinal cord stimulators. Abbott’s new MDL began with 15 actions and 11 reported related cases, while Nevro’s involved 17 actions and six additional related actions.^{2 3}

• Why it matters: the development of coordinated proceedings involving multiple manufacturers suggests that spinal cord stimulator claims may represent a broader medical-device litigation trend rather than a single-company issue. For claims organizations, that can create recurring questions involving device failure, revision procedures, product liability, defense costs and potential severity.

Hair Relaxer Products

Hair relaxer litigation increased to 12,381 pending federal actions, up approximately 2% during September, 13% YTD and 17% over the past year.² The federal inventory therefore remains large even though its growth rate is below the more rapidly expanding social-media and Uber proceedings.

• Why it matters: the size of the existing inventory, combined with continuing litigation and regulatory scrutiny, can sustain significant defense, reserving and legal-spend demands even when month-to-month growth is more moderate.

Depo-Provera

Depo-Provera had 6,412 pending federal actions as of October 1, virtually unchanged from September but still approximately 266% above the beginning-of-year level and 425% above October 2025.² Recent case-management activity increasingly involves settlement administration and resolution procedures, including the appointment of a settlement administrator, qualified settlement fund administrator, lien-resolution master and compensation fund allocation master.⁷

• Why it matters: slower filing growth does not necessarily reduce the claims-management importance of an exposure. As litigation advances, valuation, settlement administration, allocation and legal-spend oversight can become more significant than raw inventory growth.

PFAS Firefighter Turnout Gear

The newly created firefighter turnout-gear MDL increased from eight to 10 pending federal actions between September 1 and October 1.² The inventory remains small, but federal coordination provides a clearer framework for tracking whether claims begin to broaden.

• Why it matters: turnout-gear litigation represents another potential channel for PFAS-related liability beyond AFFF and environmental claims, potentially involving different defendants, products and claimant populations.

Emerging Exposure to Watch: Apple AirTag Products Liability

Apple AirTag litigation crossed an important procedural threshold on October 2 when the JPML created MDL No. 3199 in the Northern District of California. The proceeding centralized 17 actions from 13 federal districts, while another 12 related actions had been reported to the Panel. Plaintiffs allege injuries arising from the alleged use of AirTags for tracking, stalking, harassment and related conduct.⁴

• Why it matters: the litigation represents an unusual mass-tort pathway involving a consumer technology product rather than a pharmaceutical, medical device or chemical exposure. If the inventory expands, it could raise developing questions involving product design, foreseeable misuse, bodily injury and the interaction between technology-related and traditional liability exposures.

How Alan Gray Can Help

Emerging mass-tort exposures can create pressure on reserves, claim handling and legal spend long before ultimate liability is clear. Alan Gray helps insurers, TPAs, captives and other claims organizations assess whether reserves, authority levels and defense costs reflect the developing exposure. Our support can include:

• Claims audits and reserve reviews to test whether developing severity trends and current settlement values are reflected in reserves.
• MGA, TPA and delegated-authority audits to assess reserve adequacy, authority compliance and handling quality across outsourced claim inventories.
• Legal expense management to review outside-counsel rates, staffing, hours and billing compliance as coordinated litigation expands.
• Reinsurance services to assess reporting, exhaustion, cessions and recoverables as higher-severity claims move toward reinsurance layers.

Alan Gray’s independent claims auditors and reviewers average more than 25 years of claims experience. They combine technology with experienced file-level judgment, reviewing the claims and costs in scope rather than relying on automated analysis alone. For mass-tort and other complex exposures, an early targeted review can help identify reserve, handling and legal-spend issues before they become larger sources of adverse development.

For more information or to discuss how Alan Gray can support your organization, contact us at info@alangray.com.

Methodology

Alan Gray monitors federal multidistrict litigation, state and federal court developments, regulatory actions, verdicts and other publicly available information. Federal case-count comparisons generally use Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending-action figures.²

Because pending inventories can also change through dismissal, settlement, remand or other disposition, increases or decreases should not be interpreted solely as new case filings.

Federal MDL figures are based on Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending-action data through October 1, 2026. Monthly comparisons use September 1, 2026 as the baseline, year-to-date comparisons use January 5, 2026, and one-year comparisons use October 1, 2025.² Developments after the October JPML report were reviewed through October 22, 2026.

Related Reading

• Emerging Mass Tort Monitor - September-2026
• GLP-1 Vision Loss Claims - Assessing A Rare Serious Injury
• Evolution of Mass Torts from Asbestos to Emerging Risks

Citations

1. Legal Information Institute. “Mass Tort.” Wex, Cornell Law School, July 2020, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mass_tort. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
2. United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. MDL Statistics Report: Distribution of Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending. Reports dated 1 Oct. 2026, 1 Sept. 2026, 5 Jan. 2026, and 1 Oct. 2025. U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, https://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/pending-mdls-0. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
3. United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. “Panel Orders: September 2026 Hearing Session.” U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 2 Oct. 2026, https://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/panel-orders. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
4. United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. In re Apple AirTag Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3199. Panel Orders, 2 Oct. 2026, https://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/panel-orders. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
5. “TikTok Reaches First State Settlement over Teen Safety Claims, Agrees to User Limits.” Reuters, 25 Sept. 2026, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/first-us-trial-against-tiktok-test-claims-platform-fueled-teen-mental-health-2026-09-25/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
6. United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In re Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, MDL No. 3084. Orders regarding expert production and forensic examination, 15 and 28 Sept. 2026. GovInfo, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-cand-3_23-md-03084/USCOURTS-cand-3_23-md-03084-413/context. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
7. United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. “Depo-Provera Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3140 Orders by Date.” United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, https://flnd.uscourts.gov/mdl3140-orders-by-date. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026