General Causation

General causation is the scientific and legal threshold question of whether a drug, device, or toxic substance is capable of causing the type of injury alleged in a mass tort — established through epidemiological studies, animal data, and expert testimony before any individual plaintiff's specific exposure is examined. In mass tort litigation, plaintiffs must satisfy general causation as a prerequisite to proving specific causation, and courts often resolve it through Daubert hearings or consolidated science trials that can determine the viability of an entire docket. For advertising and intake teams, understanding the strength of general causation evidence in a given tort is critical to assessing campaign risk, setting qualification criteria, and anticipating how long a litigation may remain viable.