If you have been a part of a personal injury case and want to know whether it can be made into a mass tort or a class action lawsuit, understanding the differences between the two is a good idea. For a mass tort personal injury lawyer, choosing MG Law for all the legal help you need can be a great idea.
Most people are confronted with a class action lawsuit when they get legal notice regarding a consumer product. They are told about the lawsuit and given the option of being a part of it. They are also made to sign a legal document wherein they would not enter into any other legal action with the said company.
Similarities Between Class Action Lawsuits And Mass Tort Cases
There are some similarities between the two. If you want to know whether your personal injury case can be made into one of the two, knowing the similarities is important.
- Both types have cases where multiple people have been harmed financially or physically, and want to take legal action
- Legal action is being planned to be taken against the same defendant
- Instead of individual cases, they have been consolidated together into a single legal case.
The Most Important Differences To Know About
- Cases Dealt With Differently
The way the plaintiffs are treated is very different. In mass tort cases, a group of people is harmed or hurt financially or physically, and in many cases they are from the same geographical area. Each of the plaintiffs gets treated as a whole individual. This means that they have to each prove their claim. Each of them will have to show how he or she was harmed by the defendant.
In class action, the group of people that are harmed, are not treated individually. Instead, they are taken together and the case must be proved as a whole. The whole group of people is treated as a single plaintiff and they have a single legal representative.
- The Proceedings
Many times, personal injury cases of a similar and distinct group of people go for a mass tort lawsuit instead of a class action lawsuit because the criteria for the latter are not met.
- Cases Of Plaintiffs Differs A Lot
In a mass tort case, though the personal injury is a common factor, it may be that the plaintiffs have cases which are quite different from each other, even though the defendant is the same.
In class action cases, the plaintiffs usually have very similar personal injury cases individually and their cases can be taken together as a whole in the legal sense.
When it comes to mass tort cases, usually a large number of people are involved. For example, a catastrophe such as a big accident in a pharmaceutical company which affects the lives and living of a huge number of employees will usually be a mass tort lawsuit.
The right personal injury law firm with expertise in dealing with mass tort cases is the best choice if you are in the same boat.