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.
Trenton is a small city in Wayne County in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 19,584. The city is part of Downriver, a collection of mostly blue-collar communities south of Detroit on western bank of the Detroit River, thus "down-the-river. " Many residents are employed in the city's factories such as the Chrysler Trenton Engine Plant, Solutia, and the Detroit Edison Trenton Channel Power Plant. Oakwood South Shore Hospital (formerly known as Seaway Hospital) is located within city limits and has 203 beds. The former McLouth Steel plant is also located in the city. Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Canadian National provides rail service to the city. The city operates the 21,000-square-foot (2,000 m) Trenton Veterans Memorial Library and a historical museum. Trenton has 15 churches of 10 denominations. The Battle of Monguagon also took place in Trenton on the site of Elizabeth Park, which is part of the Wayne County Park System/Department of Parks and Rec. and is the first county park in Michigan, designated in 1919.