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.
Elkton is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,893 as of the 2000 census and 14,842 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Cecil County. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it is located at the head of navigation on the Elk River, which flows into the nearby Chesapeake Bay. Elkton was once known as the "Gretna Green of the West" because of its popularity as a place for eloping couples to marry until a state law was passed in 1938 requiring a 48-hour waiting period. Still, the town maintains several wedding chapels. The crash of Pan Am Flight 214, which was struck by lightning, occurred near Elkton on December 8, 1963. The crash of Pan Am Flight 214 was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records (2005) as the "Worst Lightning Strike Death Toll."