Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

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The settlement of the mass claim against the A.H. Robins Company to recover damages inflicted by its Dalkon Shield IUD product is an excellent study of the application of ADR in mass-tort cases. The author recounts his experiences in resolving such claims.

An innovative and largely successful alternative-dispute-resolution program was established to resolve claims of persons injured by the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device. Over 2.2 million Dalkon Shields were inserted into women between 1969 and 1974, and over 300,000 of these individuals filed claims for injuries that allegedly resulted. The claims bankrupted the shield’s manufacturer, the A.H. Robins Company, and the ADR program resulted from bankruptcy proceedings in federal court in Virginia. A trust fund was set up, and claimants had the option of accepting settlement offers, proceeding to full-scale jury trial or arbitration, or choosing a special type of less-formal arbitration called “ADR.”