By Sara Cannings
When a company or individual harms a group of people, they don’t all need to file separate lawsuits. Instead, they can come together and file one single lawsuit as a group.
This kind of lawsuit makes things easier and more organized. It helps everyone share resources, like lawyers and evidence, and work as a team to hold the responsible party accountable.
Law firm networks, like Lawsuits.com LLC, are a great place to learn more about class actions and seek the legal assistance required.
Lawsuits.com is a comprehensive resource for legal information, offering access to a wide range of class action lawsuits, mass torts, and legal research tools. It helps individuals find attorneys, understand legal cases, and stay informed about ongoing legal actions.
Here are five FAQs about class actions:
A class action lawsuit occurs when a group of people who were all harmed in the same way team up to file one lawsuit against the same person or company. Most of the time, the defendant (the one being sued) is a business that did something careless or harmful, like causing injuries or health issues. Instead of each person filing their own case, they join forces and file together.
The group of people in the lawsuit is called the class. If they win the case, any money or compensation they get is split among everyone in that group.
One of the biggest benefits of a class action is that it brings a lot of people together who have the same problem with a company. All the costs are shared among everyone in the group, which makes it much more affordable for each person.
Also, with a class action, the lawyers handle most of the heavy lifting for everyone in the group. You don’t have to show up in court or deal with as much paperwork. Instead, you’re represented as part of the larger group.
Another benefit is the fact that you can actually get compensation for your small claims as well. For example, if a company overcharged you $20, would you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on legal fees just to get that money back?
Probably not. But in a class action, people with small claims like that can band together. When everyone joins in, the company can be forced to pay back a large amount of money for all the harm it caused.
To join, you would need to meet the criteria of the lawsuit, which just means your situation aligns with the rest of the group.
A competent lawyer can help you figure out if you qualify and walk you through the process. They’ll connect you with the class action administrator, who handles the details and makes sure everything gets filed correctly.
Once that’s done, you’re in, and you’ll be part of the group fighting for compensation. If the case is successful, you’ll get your fair share of the outcome.
Before anything else, there’s something called the statute of limitations. That’s just a fancy way of saying there’s a deadline to join the lawsuit. As long as that deadline hasn’t passed, you’re good to go.
But typically, class actions are known to drag on for months or even years. This is mainly because they involve a lot of people, there’s tons of evidence to sort through, and both sides will take their time arguing over the details.
Sometimes, the other side might even try to slow things down on purpose just to frustrate the plaintiffs into giving up.
Joining a class action lawsuit won’t cost you anything, which is pretty awesome. If you get a notification saying you’re eligible to join, all you have to do is decide if you want to go with the group or file your own case. Sometimes, you don’t even realize you have a reason to sue until you get that notice.
If you’ve been hurt worse than everyone else in the group, or if your losses are much bigger, it might be better to file your own lawsuit instead of participating in the class action.
Just keep in mind that if you join the class action, you might not be able to take any other legal steps for the same issue after the case ends. So, it’s a good idea to think it through before making your decision.