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.
West Columbia is a city in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 13,064 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. West Columbia was incorporated in 1894 as Brookland, but the United States Postal Service called the town "New Brookland" since there was another town called Brookland. In 1936, the name was changed to West Columbia to emphasize its proximity to Columbia, South Carolina. Numerous businesses, churches and a high school retain the Brookland and New Brookland names. Columbia Metropolitan Airport, which serves Columbia, is located in this city. The airport is the location of a National Weather Service radar station and Weather Forecast Office, which serves eighteen counties in South Carolina and five counties in Georgia.