A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants. The tort may involve, for example, personal injuries suffered by numerous plaintiffs as a result of a defective product, or a mass disaster in which there were many injured persons, such as an airplane crash, or exposure of a large group of people to toxic chemicals or pharmaceuticals.
Bainbridge is a town in Monroe Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States. The population was 743 at the 2000 census. This town was named after the prominent war hero of the time William Bainbridge. He was one of the captains of the original 6 frigates of the US navy. When Indiana officially became a state in 1816, Bainbridge's name was as well known and revered then as any celebrity today. He is perhaps most notoriously known, however, for grounding the U.S.S. Philadelphia on shoals outside of Tripoli. Bainbridge was good friends with Stephen Decatur (another prominent captain), who is honored to have Decatur, IN also named after him.