The class action was designed to provide peace to a group of wronged plaintiffs with similar claims. When individuals are harmed by toxic exposure but have yet to manifest an injury, those persons often want justice in the form of a simple remedy: medical monitoring. Medical monitoring is unique in that it enables both current and future claims arising from the same incident to be resolved in a single action. Victims
who have yet to manifest an injury would receive this monitoring, paid for by the party that caused their exposure. Yet, it has become exceedingly rare for federal courts to certify class actions for medical monitoring. This Comment will evaluate why this is the case, arguing that the class-action device can and should be used more frequently to monitor large groups of plaintiffs who have been latently injured through toxic exposure.
Volume 174 Issue 5 2026 Comment Class Actions; Health Law; Litigation;