How class action lawsuits work and how you can join one

On Behalf of | Aug 11, 2017 | Consumer Fraud

A class action lawsuit is one in which the plaintiffs come together and sue defendants as a single group. As for the plaintiffs in a lawsuit like this, they share a commonality in that they all suffered a similar type of harm or loss.

Class action lawsuits can be filed in a number of different types of cases. They’re often filed against pharmaceutical companies when an individual has had an adverse reaction or died from taking a prescription drug. In other cases, an individual might have been injured when his or her car’s brakes malfunctioned, another instance that can result in a class action lawsuit being filed.

Then there are even instances in which an individual may feel as if he or she was deceived by false advertising on behalf of a retailer. These are all just some of the many instances in which a person may file a lawsuit.

Within the group of individuals that may be able to claim that they were injured by a product, some may have more serious injuries than others. By bringing these individuals together under a single umbrella lawsuit, it allows different resources, such as evidence, attorneys, defendants and witnesses to be consolidated.

It also allows those who suffered relatively minor injuries to pursue damages whereas it may would otherwise be cost prohibitive to do so on their own.

When a class action lawsuit is filed, the judge presiding over the case will generally order that the attorneys in the case make use of all reasonable, available methods to recruit those who were adversely impacted by the defendant’s actions.

Should the plaintiff win, then the proceeds from the winnings will ultimately be divided among all of the different plaintiffs that are party to the case. And, if the defendant wins, then the judge dismisses the case. If that occurs, then plaintiffs are forever prohibited from filing either individual or class action lawsuits against them over the same matters again.

If you’ve suffered an injury from a defective product or some type of other harm that can be attributed to impropriety by another, then you may qualify to be the lead plaintiff in your very own class action lawsuit. A Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, consumer fraud attorney can put help you make sense of the options you can pursue in your legal case.

Source: FindLaw, “Class action cases,” accessed Aug. 11, 2017

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