When I founded Dolan Law in 1996 to fight for victims of crime, wrongful death and institutional misconduct, mass shootings were not a part of the national conversation. I wish we still lived in a world that had no use for a mass shooting lawyer. And yet, over the past two decades, we’ve watched these heinous criminal acts multiply, along with the devastation they leave behind.
Every mass violence episode in America is unique, but at the end of the day, each one involves negligence of one kind or another. Institutional misconduct is wide-reaching, whether it is lack of enforcement of current gun laws or ignoring red flags before the perpetrator committed the horrible act. We can’t undo the damage of gun violence, but we can — and, I believe, must — hold every institution that contributed accountable on behalf of victims.
The role of a mass shooting lawyer in seeking justice
Recently, I attended a national meeting where three families spoke about their experiences losing their children in mass shootings. One child lost their life at a concert. One at a yoga studio. One at the University of Virginia. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear these stories. It’s impossible to listen to these families talk about their lost loved ones and not want to do everything in your power to seek any measure of justice
The pain of a mass shooting for many families does not go away — it gets absorbed into everyday life. And each story of a new mass shooting brings all of that pain and trauma to the surface.
Dolan Law has seen the effects of trauma, and we’ve done the work to make it a recoverable harm, from pre-impact fear to the lingering PTSD of mass shooting survivors. We know that lasting mental health issues won’t always show themselves right away, but they can be debilitating. Those floating in the wake of these events deserve a law firm that will fight to see them compensated — and to see those responsible pay.
How mass shootings are defined and successfully tried in court
Despite decades of incidents involving mass shootings in America, researchers and law enforcement agencies still do not have a universally agreed upon, concrete legal definition of a mass shooting.
The FBI tracks only “active shooter incidents,” leaving many horrific acts of violence out of the conversation as per this policy paper on defining mass shootings. Other institutions use different thresholds: The Gun Violence Archive requires at least four victims to add an event to its ongoing tally of mass shootings, while public policy think tank The Rockefeller Institute of Government counts any event where victims are picked at random or for their symbolic power. Because of this, it’s hard to quantify the overall costs of mass shootings. The closest comes from a 2022 study released by nonprofit advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which estimates a total of $35 million a day in costs from all gun violence.
The lack of consistency in tracking leaves ambiguity when it comes to pursuing mass shooting lawsuits. Still, there have been a few successful cases. The Justice Department has been forced to settle with victims before, notably in the case of the 2017 mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. After a former member was found guilty of the attack, killing 26 and injuring 22 others, a judge ruled that the Air Force was negligent in failing to alert the FBI of domestic violence charges that led to his discharge. Had the agencies shared information, the shooter would have been ineligible to purchase the guns ultimately used in the crimes. The landmark case resulted in a settlement of $144.5 million to be awarded to plaintiffs.
A similar case was brought in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, where the Department of Justice settled with plaintiffs, who sued the FBI for failing to follow up on warnings about the shooter.
Other cases seek damages from different sources. An increasing number of mass shooting victims are suing the companies where these shootings take place. And in a first-of-its-kind case, the courts permitted families of students and teachers killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting to seek damages from gun maker Remington. A similar case is currently in the courts, brought by victims of the tragic shooting at the Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
What lawyers for mass shooting victims are fighting for
Dolan Law has represented many victims of mass shootings, including one case that is still pending in the Illinois courts more than seven years later. We’ve watched each motion and hearing reopen wounds for the three families we represent. The delays in the court system are shocking, and have made their suffering even harder to bear.
I know how heavy this work is. These cases are about more than just legal outcomes. They’re about honoring loss, addressing institutional failure, and helping families find some path forward, despite the daily pain. It’s a chance to account for all of those days when even getting out of bed was too much to bear.
The court system needs to move faster in these cases. The psychological burden is real, and justice delayed only deepens it. As a member of the Illinois bar, this is something I’m fighting for, not just in this case, but for all cases currently in the courts, and, chillingly, the ones that are sure to come in the future.
When we take on a mass shooting case, our primary goal is to provide any bit of comfort we can to victims. To do that, we need a responsive court system.
If you are connected to a victim of a mass shooting, Dolan Law can help you.