Smith LaCien LLP Ranked Top Mass/Tort Litigation Firm By Chicago Lawyer for $42 Million Settlement

CHICAGO/November 11, 2022 – Smith LaCien LLP – Trial Lawyers was ranked in the November-December issue of Chicago Lawyer as the number-one firm in mass tort/litigation for a $42 million settlement for plaintiffs over defective Takata airbags.

The firm was also listed as one of the top 10 trial firms for the total amount of recoveries for plaintiffs. In the Takata case, a federal judge approved a $42 million settlement with Volkswagen Group of America Inc. and Audi of America LLC, resolving litigation over the alleged use of defective Takata Corp. airbags.

Smith LaCien founding partner Todd A. Smith was the lead co-lead counsel for economic loss in the multidistrict litigation. The settlement involved a class of more than 1 million members across the nation and covered 1.35 million vehicles.

Among Smith LaCien’s other large recoveries were a $10 million settlement to a man who allegedly suffered a spinal injury from a sports-related accident as a teen and a $7.3 million settlement in a wrongful death case to the family of a woman who died after a failed endoscopy at a suburban hospital.

Published annually by Chicago Lawyer magazine, the Settlement Survey ranks law firms in terms of the money recovered for their clients. This year’s report was based on 393 cases totaling over $1.16 billion in recoveries obtained during the reporting cycle. A total of 101 law firms made the list.