Q: How can a drug and medical device company recognize when it may face a global issue?

David Ferrera: Not every litigation presents the potential for an international mass tort. A drug or medical device company may have a problem with a particular manufacturing lot that can be isolated to a particular market. By contrast, there are often global “signaling events” that can alert companies to the potential of an international mass tort, such as an international recall of a product, foreign media or government entities “stirring the pot,” or poor clinical results presented in a foreign public journal or medical meeting.