In September 2026, the cost to acquire a qualified mass tort lead ranged from $56.33 (Social Media Addiction — Morgan criteria) to $1,404.74 (Video Game Addiction / Bullock) across 7 active tort campaigns and $879,286 in tracked 30-day ad spend, with cost per signed case running from $106 to $1,047. No blended figure is published here, because acquisition cost varies by an order of magnitude between torts and a single average would mislead any firm budgeting against it. This is MTAA's monthly read on what it actually costs to put mass tort cases on a docket — updated on the 15th of every month from live campaign data.
Key findings — September 2026
- The spread inside one tort is the finding. Two Social Media Addiction campaigns delivered $503 and $1,047 cost per signed case in the same window, on the same litigation — a 108% difference. Tort selection gets a firm in the door; creative and intake execution decide what it pays.
- Cheap leads are not cheap cases. Social Media Addiction — Morgan criteria carries the lowest cost per lead at $56.33 and has not produced enough signed volume to publish a cost per signed case. A $56.33 lead that never signs costs more than a lead that becomes a $106 signed case.
- State-scoped and high-criteria torts run several times national cost per lead. Video Game Addiction / Bullock at $1,404.74 needs different capital planning and a longer intake cycle. Budget it off a national benchmark and you run out of capital before you run out of qualified claimants.
- Blended cost per lead across the portfolio moved -41% from $51.29 (week of Apr 23) to $30.44 (week of Sep 14). Read this as a mix shift between torts, not as the price of any one tort moving.
Portfolio cost per lead, by week
Portfolio-wide cost per qualified lead across all tracked tort campaigns. This line moves when campaign mix changes, not only when any single tort gets more or less expensive — use the per-tort table below for budgeting. Most recent partial week excluded.
Cost per qualified lead, by tort
| Tort campaign | Tracked spend | Leads | Cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taco Bell * | $37,012 | 7,746 | $4.78 |
| Social Media Addiction — Morgan criteria | $244,395 | 4,339 | $56.33 |
| Social Media Addiction — Lanier criteria | $456,169 | 4,820 | $94.64 |
| Birth Injury — multi-state | $45,554 | 223 | $204.28 |
| Birth Injury — single state | $58,306 | 206 | $283.04 |
| Storm / Hail Damage | $32,231 | 91 | $354.19 |
| Video Game Addiction / Bullock | $5,619 | 4 | $1,404.74 |
* Taco Bell: different claim type — qualification criteria differ materially from the tort campaigns. Excluded from the headline range above.
Cost per signed case, by tort
| Tort campaign | Signed | Lead→sign | Cost per signed case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Media Addiction — Morgan criteria | 258 | 6% | $1,047.27 |
| Social Media Addiction — Lanier criteria | 1,133 | 24% | $502.62 |
| Taco Bell | 6,083 | 79% | $106.08 |
Cost per signed case is withheld for Birth Injury — single state, Birth Injury — multi-state, Video Game Addiction / Bullock at the firm's discretion.
Methodology
Figures are aggregated, de-identified performance across active mass tort advertising campaigns MTAA tracks, classified to tort by campaign, over a rolling 30-day window ($879,286 spend, 7 tort campaigns, 17,429 qualified leads, 7,477 signed retainers). Qualified lead = a screened form or call; signed case = an executed retainer; cost per lead/case = spend ÷ leads or signed retainers.
Where one tort runs against two distinct sets of case criteria, each is reported separately, because their economics differ materially. A criteria label names the qualification standard leads are screened against — not the firm running the campaign. Cost per signed case is reported only where signed data exists and the firm has not elected to withhold it. This is a focused, actively-tracked sample, not the entire market. Updated monthly.
Cite this benchmark
Suggested citation: Mass Tort Ad Agency. Mass Tort Case Acquisition Benchmark — September 2026. https://masstortadagency.com/mass-tort-advertising-benchmark-september-2026/
Figures are free to republish with attribution and a link to this page.
Evaluating how to acquire cases cost-effectively? See our comparison of mass tort case-acquisition options and the questions to ask any vendor.
