Class action lawsuits are lawsuits where many plaintiffs all take legal action in one big case. The main plaintiff, called the representative, and their attorneys make day-to-day decisions and manage the case, while class members have minimal involvement in the legal process. The goal is for every class member to be able to recover compensation from a defendant who has done something wrong. Often, these types of cases are filed in situations where it would not make financial sense for every individual plaintiff to bring a separate case.
Types of Class Actions There are many different kinds of class actions that can be filed. Certain types of cases are commonly handled as class actions including:
- Defective medical device cases: When medical devices fail, patients can experience devastating side effects. Defective medical device cases are brought against device manufacturers to recover compensation for people who suffered physical or financial loss, or for people whose loved ones were killed by defective medical devices.
- Defective drug cases: Defective drug cases are similar to defective medical device cases in that plaintiffs routinely experience health problems due to issues with medications. When a drug doesn’t work as promised or has unexpected and dangerous side effects, plaintiffs may come together in a class action case.
- Employment cases: Large employers who treat their workers improperly can face class actions as groups of workers come together to take legal action. Employers can file class action cases against employers when many workers were the victims of discrimination, such as when all of the women at a company are paid less than men. Employees can also file class action lawsuits for wage and hour fraud and other violations of federal and state labor laws and worker protection laws.
- Consumer fraud cases: Consumers have many different types of protections under federal and state law. For example, companies have to be honest about the features and capabilities of their products and they need to honor warranties. All products that are sold to consumers must be fit for use as intended. If companies violate any consumer protection laws, plaintiffs can file a claim for compensation. Since many individual consumers only suffer small losses, these types of cases are almost always class action claims since it does not make sense for each individual person to sue a company because a product they bought doesn’t work as promised.
- Defective product cases: Defective product cases are different from consumer fraud cases because they generally involve plaintiffs who suffered physical injury as a result of problems with products. Dangerous toys and defective vehicles or car parts are some common examples of products that can lead to class action cases being filed. Plaintiffs can recover compensation for all of the injuries they sustained as a result of products that do not work as intended.
- Securities fraud cases: Shareholders can take legal actions when investment funds or companies violated securities laws or harm the interests of investors, causing financial loss.
These are just a few of many types of class action lawsuits that are routinely filed. If you have suffered a wrong and you believe others may have experienced a similar harm, you may be able to file a class action or join existing class action litigation.
Contact The Class Action News to learn more about your legal options.
