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.
Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 22,764. The name Merrick is taken from "Meroke", the name (meaning peaceful) of the Algonquin tribe formerly indigenous to the area. It is served by the Merrick station on the Long Island Rail Road.