Class Actions
Class Action Attorneys
While you’ve probably heard of class action lawsuits, you may not know exactly what they are—or how they can benefit you. Class action lawsuits occur when several people who are similarly situated suffer from the same course of conduct or wrongdoing.
Group lawsuits can come in two different forms: class actions and mass torts. These two types are similar in that they both involve multiple people. Group lawsuits must involve more than one person, not only by definition but also because they go against powerful corporations. The only chance individuals have against these resource-rich companies comes when they team up—think power in numbers.
Put another way, a class action lawsuit is a complaint filed by a class action attorney on behalf of a group of clients, all of whom have had the same or substantially similar harm done to them. Class actions can be a catalyst for change within the offending company.
What Is a Mass Tort?
A mass tort is similar to a class action lawsuit in that it combines many cases into a single trial. The difference between the two is that in class action lawsuits, each plaintiff is treated as an individual; in a mass tort, cases are handled together in order to pool resources but may not have all the legal similarities of a class action.
How Do Class Action Lawsuits Work?
Class actions frequently have a national reach, especially if a very large number of consumers are affected by the issues being litigated. Class action lawsuits cover all types of products and services, from medical devices and medications to toys, tires, financial investments, and more. The ultimate goal of a class action, aside from recovering damages to compensate you for your losses, is to protect consumers from the faulty products or services in question and prevent similar situations from happening again.
Given the considerable power and resources large companies can wield, it should be evident that the only way for individual consumers to protect themselves against legal violations from corporations is to partner with experienced class action attorneys.
People who have experienced consumer fraud that resulted in personal injury often have little recourse when it comes to advocating for their rights against large corporations. When these corporations do something that adversely affects a large group of people, a consumer class action lawsuit gives them a voice.
When many people have been harmed or injured, it may not be feasible to pursue each case individually, and so this type of case is built upon strength in numbers. Class actions give a group of individuals the ability to take on large corporations or powerful private interests and have a chance of righting a wrong. Bringing people of common issues of law together into a single “class” can provide a loud enough voice for your grievance to be heard.
As attorneys with 30 years of combined trial and class action litigation experience, we have the know-how and the resources needed to litigate class action cases, whether they are on a regional scale or a national level.
The attorneys at Balkan Patterson & Charbonnet are among the best class action lawyers in Florida. If you or someone you know is considering a class action lawsuit, please contact us for a free consultation today at (561) 750-9191.
