DEPO PROVERA

If you’re trying to spot the next big tort before your competition does, stop watching old verdicts and start paying attention to Depo-Provera. The JPML finally gave it a seat at the big table. On May 29, it became MDL 3140—centralized, streamlined, and officially in motion. The core allegation? That extended use of this injectable contraceptive causes meningioma, a type of brain tumor that sounds benign but can cause serious and permanent neurological damage. Best estimates from plaintiff-side experts suggest early bellwether trials will hit in late 2026 or early 2027.

Compensation estimates are also beginning to emerge: typical settlements are expected to range from $100K to $500K, while severe cases involving surgical removal of meningiomas could exceed $1 million. This isn’t a wait-and-see scenario. Smart firms are already preparing intake infrastructure and launching campaigns. The verdicts may be at least two years away—but by then, the best claims will already be spoken for.

Of course, not all the action is coming from new cases. Some of the most established torts are finally heating up.

PARAQUAT

The Paraquat litigation is gathering serious steam. As of early July 2025, more than 6,354 cases are consolidated in MDL 3004 in the Southern District of Illinois, but that’s only half the action—the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas now has over 1,190 state-filed cases, and a motion by Syngenta and Chevron to transfer them was decisively rejected on July 17, 2025, cementing Philly as a plaintiff-friendly hub. The first federal bellwether is set for October 14, 2025. On settlement valuations, early federal estimates hover between $700K and $1.5M per plaintiff—reflecting stronger-than-Roundup causation science—and state court cases in Philly could push even higher, thanks to jury-friendly venues.

AFFF

The AFFF firefighting foam litigation has now topped 11,000 cases, and the first personal-injury bellwether trial is set for October 20, 2025. After years of discovery, PFAS science is now courtroom ready. Plaintiffs allege long-term exposure to “forever chemicals” caused cancer, thyroid disease, and systemic organ damage—especially in firefighters, airport workers, and communities near contaminated water. Settlement chatter suggests $300,000–$600,000 for top-tier claimants. Global resolution? Possibly 2026—but first, let’s see what happens in October.

ROUNDUP

Meanwhile, Roundup is proving hard to bury. On July 10, a Missouri appeals court upheld a $611 million verdict against Bayer, even after trimming the original award. At the same time, a June study linking glyphosate to Parkinson’s-like symptoms has reignited interest in claims that had gone cold. “Bayer is confident it will eventually win on the science… but in the meantime, it’s getting clobbered with verdicts,” said Rutgers law professor David Noll. That clobbering has reopened the intake floodgates. Current settlements are averaging around $160,000, but high-exposure cases—like agricultural workers with years of documented use—are pulling $250,000 and above. It’s a reminder that science may shape theory, but juries shape value.

Craig’s Note: We have disqualified hundreds of potential Paraquat claimants who were in fact using Glyphosate. They were all agricultural workers suffering from Parkinson’s disease. These workers deserve a path to compensation.

CAMP LEJEUNE

The Camp Lejeune litigation—rooted in exposure to PCE and TCE-contaminated water between 1953 and 1987—is entering a high-stakes mediation phase. As of late June 2025, settlement mediations for 25 Track 1 bellwethers involving cancers (bladder, kidney, leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma) and Parkinson’s are underway. Mediators scheduled sessions between late July and late August, aiming for a global deal by year’s end. Over 137,000 administrative claims have been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, but fewer than 500 have resolved—even as veterans continue to suffer and die waiting. Experts predict payouts ranging from $100,000 to $550,000, depending on diagnosis and duration of exposure, with traditional litigation likely to follow in the 1–2 years post-mediation window.  

But don’t sleep on the new wave of cases.

HAIR STRAIGHTENER

As of July 2025, the hair relaxer MDL in the Northern District of Illinois has surged past 10,400 pending cases, driven largely by uterine, ovarian, and endometrial cancer claims among Black and Latina women. Judge Mary Rowland kicked off discovery with a March 5, 2025 case-management order, setting a discovery deadline of September 30, 2025. Bellwether selection is underway, with the first jury trials anticipated in November 2025 and a second following in February 2026.

More than 32 cases are now part of the discovery “pool,” and tensions are mounting as defendants—including L’Oréal, Revlon, and SoftSheen-Carson—have yet to produce key foreign-regulatory documents even as the stakes—both legal and cultural—keep rising. For legal marketing firms, this means crafting campaigns that speak authentically to impacted communities—not just in tone, but in timing.

OZEMPIC

As for the GLP‑1 receptor agonist claims—centered on drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy—the docket is moving fast. In March 2024, the JPML centralized all relevant lawsuits into MDL 3094 before Judge Gene Pratter in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Fast-forward to July 2025, and there are nearly 2,000 pending cases alleging severe gastrointestinal injuries—gastroparesis, ileus, intestinal blockage—and even vision loss like NAION. Defendants are already fending off early threshold motions: in August 2024, Judge Marston ruled on diagnostic standards and warning label adequacy, a move that may go down as a pivotal bellwether moment. Savvy marketing teams have already begun testing keywords like “gastroparesis,” “intestinal blockage,” and “Ozempic lawsuit”—capturing early intake before the mainstream wave hits.  

What ties all this together is timing. Timing is everything in mass torts. You don’t make your money in court—you make it in the six to twelve months before the first verdict drops. That’s when awareness builds, that’s when claimants search, and that’s when your firm’s name needs to be where they land. Whether it’s a social campaign, a webinar series, a new intake script, or a co-counsel pitch deck, the story needs to be out there—now.

At the end of the day, this business runs on more than just filings and verdicts. It runs on good leads, good advice, and good people—marketers and lawyers working together to bring clarity to chaos and help real people find the justice they’ve been told is too late or too complicated to pursue. These torts aren’t just numbers—they’re lives in transition. And behind every call, every click, every signed retainer, there’s a chance to do something meaningful and well-executed. If you’re building a campaign, refining your strategy, or just want to know what’s actually worth chasing next, talk to us. We’ve got the data, the ideas, and the people to turn good timing into great outcomes.

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Craig H. Alinder, Vice President

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