Since their inception in Canada, class actions and mass torts increasingly involve claimants who have endured abuse, systemic harms, or traumatic injuries. Alongside this, there is a growing recognition in the profession of the need to incorporate trauma-informed practices as an important component of access to justice.
Traditional class procedures, like any other court process, can unintentionally re-traumatize claimants. Practitioners also need to think about to how the unique structure of class actions may compound survivors’ harms rather than repair them.
One of the challenges for class counsel is finding ways to accommodate the unique needs of survivors in a collective process. In this blog, I outline ways that practitioners can incorporate trauma-informed practice into class action claims administration processes. Please note however that practitioners should be considering how to provide trauma-informed services beginning from the initial intake and while forming their litigation strategy.
What Does “Trauma-Informed” Mean?
A trauma-informed approach means lawyering with an awareness of how past trauma affects witnesses and claimants. Lawyers and administrators should strive to minimize triggers, prioritize safety and choice, and empower survivors to control their participation.
What Class Action Claims Process Look Like?
Whether funds are achieved by settlement or through a successful trial, practitioners face the problem of how to disburse these funds to potential class members. This is a daunting prospect and can be an area ripe for re-traumatization.
Broadly speaking, claims processes involve two steps:
- Providing notice to class members
- Determining how to distribute the funds, also known as claims administration
Prior to administering claims, class counsel must provide notice to potential class members of the availability of funds. In an ideal world, class counsel would know each class member and be able to get in touch directly. Of course, that is not usually the case and more general methods of reaching class members are needed, such as targeting advertising or sending unsolicited notices using class member information gathered from the defendants. Notice will never be perfect but can be more trauma-informed with forethought.
Following the notice period, there is a claims period within which potential class members must submit information to identify themselves as a class member and help with the assessment of their claim. A claims form is sent out setting out the information required for potential class members to fill out, either alone or with assistance. These forms are used to assess their claims and determine how funds will be allocated.
Ways to Add Trauma-Informed Practices
Notices and Communications
Ways to add trauma-informed practices to the notice process include the following:
- All notices, claims forms, and FAQs should be written in plain, non-technical language.
- Instructions should be straightforward and mindful to build trust.
- Notices should be offered in multiple formats, with translations or literacy supports where needed.
- Each communication should list support resources (e.g. mental health hotlines, community groups) so claimants can access help while processing difficult memories.
- When considering methods of notice, class counsel should give thought to the demographic, culture, experience and specific needs of the class.
Claims Administration
Ways to add trauma-informed practices to the notice process include the following:
- The claim form itself should be survivor-friendly: concise questions, clear instructions, and content warnings.
- Forms should be framed to ensure survivors feel heard and validated. This can include having a statement of belief, and allowing space for them to recount their experience in their own words.
- Have designated people to assist potential class members with filling out the forms can reduce feeling of intimation of the claims process. Give thought to who could help make class members feel more comfortable sharing difficult experiences. Community liaisons or Elders can also help build trust, especially in Indigenous class actions.
- Fill out part of the form and have class members review it if they have already shared information with class counsel. This can minimize the impact of class members having to relive difficult memories.
- Check that claims administrators’ staff receive specialized trauma training, can understand and recognize the impact of trauma, avoid triggering language, and are trained in de-escalation.
- Consider if culturally- or gender-matched staff is appropriate.
- Aim for lengthy and flexible timelines for the claims period to allow class members to process their trauma at their own pace.
Recent Canadian Examples of Trauma-Informed Settlements
In McKay v. Rowe et al, 2024 ONSC 1378, a historical sexual abuse claim, the settlement agreement set out two different class processes: one involved trauma-informed psychologists as the administrators rather than the court and reduced the evidentiary standard to allow a broader list of individuals who could act as witnesses for the claim, including health professionals and Elders.
In First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada et al. v. Attorney General of Canada (representing the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada), 2023 CHRT 44, a human rights case regarding the racial and systemic discrimination against First Nations children, the Tribunal pushed for culturally sensitive and trauma-informed. The resulting notices and outreach efforts were community-led to acknowledge the intergenerational trauma at issue. It also did not require children to testify to avoid retraumatizing them.
In Hardy v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 FC 1140, a claim addressing the abuses of Indigenous patients at a Federal Indian Hospital, the claims process included access to trauma supports, cultural sensitivity, and a presumption of the honesty and good faith of claimants.
Class action lawyers and administrators should proactively adopt trauma-informed strategies at every stage. Such measures advance access to justice by lowering barriers for vulnerable class members, and they enhance settlement efficiency by reducing conflict and delays.
A trauma-informed approach is both an ethical imperative and a pragmatic advantage: it builds trust, improves participation, and leads to fairer, more lasting resolutions. Failing to accommodate trauma can deter individuals with valid claims from pursuing legal action. By contrast, a sensitive process encourages participation and truth-telling, which are key to a fair result. Engaging claimants compassionately also boosts the legitimacy of the class action: settlement administrators report that a “fair and compassionate” process itself promotes healing, creating closure beyond mere compensation.
