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.
Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,594 at the 2000 census. James "Tama Jim" Wilson lived in Traer after serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and was buried in a cemetery northwest of the town in 1920. Traer is known for the iron winding staircase that originally led to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding, reverse-spiral and connected to the building with a suspended walkway, a somewhat rare arrangement.