Tort Claimants

Tort claimants face particular issues in bankruptcy. Unlike commercial claimants—e.g., lenders, vendors, contract counterparties—they are involuntary creditors of a debtor, and the liability is often subject to existing litigation that will need to proceed at some point. There is also often insurance available to cover the claims. 

Absent dedicated representation to aggressively pursue their rights, tort claimants often get left behind in the fast-moving bankruptcy process. Perhaps because of this, more and more large corporate debtors are turning to bankruptcy to address mass tort litigation.