Class action lawsuits are not designed to just win millions of dollars from companies; instead, they are designed to protect the rights of consumers. They even protect those who have not been injured but preventing them from becoming a victim. When law offices find large numbers of plaintiffs injured by the same party or have similar complaints, they will investigate the legality of the product or service in question and hold the company responsible for any injuries that have been caused. While you may not want to be involved in a class action lawsuit, it could happen to you. When you purchase a product, you expect that it will work like it claims to – and without causing you injury. But, this doesn’t always happen. And, these days, faulty manufacturing is becoming a chronic issue in the country. If you are injured, you have rights, and others who were injured just like you may file a similar claim against a company.
A mass tort is a civil lawsuit that is filed against a company by multiple plaintiffs. Mass torts can be on the state or federal level. They involve a massive number of individuals who have been injured by the same company and, therefore, are filing their lawsuit together. Instead of having multiple cases heard, the same issue is heard just once by the court.
Each plaintiff in these types of cases has individual claims for distinct damages against the defendant. Any information that is found by one attorney in the case is then shared with other lawyers in that same class action lawsuit to help their case against the defendant. In essence, everyone works as a team. Mass torts differ from standard lawsuits, because the class action suits are filed on behalf of a specific group of people. These people share certain injuries and damages resulting from the same problem. Mass torts are designed to reduce the number of cases heard, while still protecting all who were injured.
There are some mass torts that are more commonly heard in courts in the United States. The two most common being pharmaceutical and consumer product claims. Unfortunately, manufacturing processes often yield a high rate of error – and therefore, it is no surprise that people are injured. Many people have been injured or even killed from defective consumer products or medications. While medications do have side-effects and it is impossible to know all of them, manufacturers are still responsible for warning of those side-effects and taking action when they discover potential issues with their medications.
It is important to understand the responsibility of doctors and retailers that sell defective products or medications. They too can be held liable for injuries – even if they did not design the product or create the medication.
Sadly, products designed for children are not always safe. Some of these injuries can result in death. This brings up the issue of wrongful death. The plaintiffs must show that the company was responsible for the death or injury of the child, and that it was negligent. The company, in order to be considered legally negligent, must have known about the potential problem and failed to prevent injury.
There are product defect claims that do not result in a class action lawsuit. If you have been injured by a defective product, defective medical device, or if your child was injured, you may have a claim against the manufacturer, the company that sold the product, and even the distributor. The most important thing to is understand your rights in this matter, and to speak with an attorney who offers assistance in product liability claims. Contact Berkowitz and Hanna LLC today to schedule a no-obligation case evaluation. Call 866-479-7909 or contact us online to get started.
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