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.
Surgoinsville is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,484 at the 2000 census. In 2003 the estimated population was 1,691. It is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region. The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 3. The number of murders and homicides was 0. The violent crime rate was 1.8 per 1,000 people.