November 2026 editionOctober 2026 data
The Hot Tort Report
Every month we rank the hottest torts in mass tort advertising. We score each one on TV, Meta and paid search, plus Whitehardt Institutional Insights, so you can see where the money is going.
Hot Tort Report 2.0
What’s the tort news?
We keep our finger on the pulse of multidistrict litigation, so our subscribers can see where the money is being spent and plan their own advertising around it. These cases can be highly lucrative, but they take significant investment and patience to secure.
The first version tracked monthly TV spend. Version 2.0 scores every tort on what we see across TV, Meta and paid search, plus our own institutional insights.
Published November 2026 with October 2026 data. Advertising spend from multiple sources for a recent 30-day period. Questions? national@whitehardt.com
This month’s top ten
How the score works.
We add up the four channel scores for a total out of 17. Pick a tort to jump to its write-up.
WHii · 0–5
Whitehardt Institutional Insights: our read on litigation activity and attention around the tort.
TV · 0–5
Tracked television spending on the tort.
PPC · 0–2
Advertiser participation in paid search.
#2of 10
Diabetes Meds for Weight Loss
Diabetes Meds for Weight Loss holds at #2 for a second month, with prominent national coverage of the litigation’s newer front: vision loss. An NPR investigation published October 10 found more than 1,000 reports of optic neuropathy linked to GLP-1s since 2024 in the FDA’s adverse event database. These cases center on non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a sudden loss of blood flow to the optic nerve. The FDA told NPR it has undertaken its own study of NAION risk and will decide whether regulatory action is needed once that assessment is complete. Adverse event reports are safety-surveillance data, not proof that a drug caused an injury, so the FDA’s eventual conclusion carries real weight for this side of the litigation.
Metrics
CPA$91 – $1,056
CPL$68 – $792
Common criteriaTook a prescription diabetes drug for weight loss (e.g. Ozempic®, Mounjaro®), discontinued use of the drug, and experienced one or more gastrointestinal disorders at least 30 days after your first dose.
We share more metrics and the full criteria on request.
#3of 10
Birth Injury
Birth Injury heated up this month, climbing from #5 to #3 on the strength of one of the broadest advertising profiles on the report. It tied Diabetes Meds for Weight Loss for the highest TV score in the top 10, a standout in a month when only five tracked torts showed any TV activity at all. It’s also one of just three top-10 torts with measurable activity in all four channels, a sign that firms are spreading their investment across channels rather than leaning on just one.
We share this tort’s CPA, CPL and qualifying criteria on request.
#4of 10
Roblox Child Abuse
On October 16, a complaint filed in the Northern District of California named both Roblox Corporation and Snap Inc. as defendants. It alleges that a predator posing as a peer targeted a 9-year-old girl on Roblox, then moved the conversation to Snapchat, where the exploitation escalated. The complaint describes this kind of cross-platform hand-off as a known exploitation pathway that neither company disrupted. It brings eight claims, including fraudulent concealment, negligent failure to warn, and strict liability for design defect, and argues that basic age and identity verification would have prevented the harm. Snap’s appearance as a co-defendant is a reminder of how closely this litigation overlaps with the social media cases at the top of this month’s report.
We share this tort’s CPA, CPL and qualifying criteria on request.
#5of 10
Medication Port
Medication Port is this month’s hottest mover, jumping from #13 to #5 and returning to the Hot Tort Report’s top 10 for the first time in a couple of years.
The courtroom is heating up right alongside it. The court set aside October 13–30 for the third bellwether trial, an infection case. A fourth bellwether is set to begin December 1, which puts three trials in roughly four months. The data doesn’t show that any single verdict caused Medication Port’s rise, but firms expanded their digital presence over the same months that brought a first plaintiff win and a packed trial calendar.
Metrics
CPA$1,000
CPL$500
Common criteriaBard PowerPort implantable/injectable catheters implanted after 2007 AND experienced Device Fracture/Migration causing heart attack; stroke; hemorrhage; pulmonary embolism; arrhythmia; blood clot; or organ/vessel perforation.
We share more metrics and the full criteria on request.
#7of 10
Hernia Mesh
Hernia Mesh slips from #6 to #7, and most of that decline came from TV. Last month, TV was the one channel moving up for Hernia Mesh; in October, almost all channels, instead, saw a decline. The exception was PPC, which doubled to its maximum 2.0. That makes Hernia Mesh one of only three top-10 torts with a full PPC score this month, and one of three with activity in all four channels.
October’s filings point to where much of the current activity is: claims against Covidien, the Medtronic subsidiary behind the Parietex, Parietene, and Symbotex mesh lines. On October 15, a Tennessee man filed suit against Covidien and its subsidiary Sofradim in Middlesex County Superior Court in Massachusetts. He alleges that Covidien’s Parietene polypropylene mesh, implanted to repair an inguinal hernia, failed and caused nerve damage, chronic pain, and complex regional pain syndrome that required further surgery. The complaint brings claims for design defect, failure to warn, and negligence, seeks punitive damages, and asserts that the case can’t be removed to federal court.
Metrics
Common criteriaUnderwent hernia mesh surgery from 2000—present; suffered from one of the following: perforation, bowel obstruction, mesh erosion, mesh contraction, torn mesh, sepsis/infection, granuloma, adhesion, dehiscence that resulted in a removal/repair, scheduled or future.
We share more metrics and the full criteria on request.
#8of 10
Birth Control Injections
Birth Control Injections slips one spot to #8, with a single change behind the move: WHii fell a full point to 1.0. October was a waiting month for the Depo-Provera litigation, with the settlement process underway and no new trials or rulings. The key date is just ahead: under Case Management Order No. 14, the deadline for claimants to register for the settlement program is November 30, 2026. For firms, the more consequential order may be what CMO 14 requires of everyone outside the settlement. Each must serve case-specific expert reports within 90 days. Those reports must include an expert opinion that Depo-Provera caused the plaintiff’s meningioma, an opinion ruling out alternative causes, and a complete set of supporting medical records.
With registration closing at the end of November and a demanding path for new claims after that, the steady Meta presence and the loss of WHii fit a market that is still active but no longer expanding.
- Case Management Order No. 12: the July 27, 2026 case management conference (PDF)
- Case Management Order No. 13: Appointment of Settlement Administrator (PDF)
- Case Management Order No. 14: Case management for ongoing litigation, with exhibits (PDF)
- Case Management Order No. 15: Appointment of Supplemental Compensation Fund Allocation Master (PDF)
Metrics
CPA$5,169
CPL$3,050
We share more metrics and the full criteria on request.
#9of 10
Clergy Sexual Abuse
Clergy Sexual Abuse returns to the top 10 with an advertising profile unlike anything else in this report. Meta at a perfect 5.0 and WHii at 2.0 account for every point. It’s the only top-10 tort with no measurable TV or PPC activity. Firms are reaching potential claimants almost entirely through social media rather than broadcast or search.
The month closed with one of the largest resolutions this litigation has produced. The Archdiocese of New York and attorneys for about 1,300 people who said they were sexually abused by clergy agreed to an $800 million settlement, the second-largest involving a Catholic archdiocese in the U.S. Only the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which reached an $880 million settlement in 2024, has paid more. Beyond the payment, the archdiocese agreed to release documents about sexual offenders in the Church. Survivors can also pursue the Church’s insurers for additional payouts, and the deal avoids an archdiocese bankruptcy. The agreement won’t be final until the parties sign it, which is scheduled for the week of November 6.
The settlement came at the very end of the reporting period, so it doesn’t explain October’s rise, but it caps a four-month climb that has carried Clergy Sexual Abuse from the middle of the report back into the top 10, all through social media.
We share this tort’s CPA, CPL and qualifying criteria on request.
#10of 10
Medical Scope
Medical Scope rounds out the top 10, slipping one spot from #9. October marks Medical Scope’s fourth straight month in the top 10 since it debuted just outside the rankings in June.
The month brought the most significant regulatory action yet involving the devices at the center of this tort. On October 20, the FDA alerted health care providers to an import alert for certain medical devices manufactured in Japan by Olympus Medical Systems Corporation and its subsidiaries. The alert is about how the devices are made, not a finding that they caused infections. The FDA has also clarified that health care providers may keep using existing devices covered by the alert as long as they are functioning properly. The action followed a broader warning: Olympus received an FDA warning letter after inspections of 6 manufacturing facilities across Japan, Europe, and the U.S.
Firms appear to be keeping Medical Scope in their digital mix, with Meta back at full strength, while search competition eased.
We share this tort’s CPA, CPL and qualifying criteria on request.
Why mesothelioma isn’t on the list
Mesothelioma continues to dominate on spend, but it’s a niche of its own. The cases can be extremely fruitful. They’re also hard to come by, and landing one takes a high buy-in and patience. We track meso spending separately every month. If you’d like the latest meso numbers or to talk about pursuing these cases, reach out to us directly.
#1of 10 · Featured tort
Social Media Addiction
Social Media Addiction holds the #1 spot for a second month, and the courtroom is heating up as the month closes. On October 30, Meta settled with the last plaintiff still pursuing claims against it in the latest Los Angeles bellwether trial. That spared Meta another high-profile trial with its CEO and the head of Instagram on the stand, and left Snap to face the jury alone. The case involves two teenage girls alleging that features like Snapstreaks and push notifications fueled compulsive use and harmed their mental health.
Jury selection continues into early November, with Snap’s CEO set to testify at trial for the first time. Because this is a bellwether case, the verdict could influence how the remaining cases are resolved.
We share this tort’s CPA, CPL and qualifying criteria on request.
#2 →Diabetes Meds for Weight Loss