What Everyone Ought To Know About Class Action Lawsuits
In a class action lawsuit, many people have been injured or suffered losses from the same product or action. These injured parties come together and sue the defendant who caused the injuries or losses. It's advisable for plaintiffs to have experienced attorneys in class action lawsuits - http://wagner-lawgroup.com/legal-services/class-action-litigation/. You can contact Wagner Law Group, S.C. at wagner-lawgroup.com.
Are there legal requirements for a class action lawsuit? Yes, there are actually three requirements. First, the claim must be legal, and second, there must be many plaintiffs, so that hearing each case individually would clog the courts. Third, the lead plaintiff must represent the other plaintiffs and distribute any awards fairly.
Class action suits can be brought for corporate misconduct. In 1982, people in Massachusetts filed a class action suit against W.R. Grace and Co., whose food plant dumped carcinogens into the water supply. Several people developed leukemia, and 5 children died from it. In 1986, the company settled for $8 million to the families of those affected.
Class action lawsuits are sometimes drug litigation cases. The diet drug Fen-Phen was taken off the market in 1997. About 125,000 plaintiffs who had suffered heart valve damage from it received a settlement of $3.75 billion from Wyeth, the drugmaker.
Some of the largest class action cases have been brought against the tobacco companies. In the 1990s, memos were leaked that showed the companies knew cigarettes were deadly and addictive, but kept the information from the public. In 2000, a jury in Miami, Florida awarded $145 billion to smokers who had become ill. Since then, another $360 million has been awarded to people injured by tobacco.
So the biggest companies are not immune to class action lawsuits. If you've suffered injury or loss from someone else's wrongdoing, contact Wagner Law Group, S.C.
