If youve ever seen a commercial on television or heard an advertisement on the radio about class action lawsuits, you might be curious as to what they actually are. Most people have at least some idea of what these types of lawsuits are. Youve probably seen them in the movies and such. Many people, though, dont actually know what constitutes a class action lawsuit and why these types of lawsuits are ever-present in our courts today. Heres a quick summary of what these suits are and why they work for many people who have similar complaints against a company or a product.
In this type of lawsuit, the plaintiff, or the person with the complaint, is actually a group of people. The group of people can be from anywhere. Sometimes, these types of lawsuits are about the practices of big corporations and factories that are harming farmland or particular communities. In these cases, the class of plaintiffs will live close together. Other times, though, individuals all over the country, or even all over the world, are harmed by particular companies and their products. This is often the case with medical class action lawsuits in which a faulty product or drug is distributed to many people. If people from all over the country are harmed by the same basic defect in the product, they can band together to file a class action lawsuit. In the case of Osmoprep phospho-soda, the FDA required an Osmoprep black box warning.
What Makes a Class?
There are plenty of legal restrictions, of course, on what constitutes a class and on what types of lawsuits a class can file. For instance, when youre working in a class action lawsuit, the factual claims that are being made need to be relatively the same from person to person. If person A has one side effect from a medication and person B has another, they probably wont be able to file this type of suit together. If, though, both people have similar side effects with similar effects on their lives, they may be able to file a class action lawsuit.
Why File a Class Action Suit?
There are lots of different reasons that people choose to file these types of lawsuits rather than individual suits. Oftentimes, the group has more power. If you can prove that a medication or product harmed tens or hundreds of people in similar ways, youre more likely to get a settlement. You can show that the companys product was, indeed, the cause of harm to all parties involved in the suit. Currently there is no Osmoprep class action and individual Osmoprep lawsuit cases are being filed by people suffering from kidney damage.
There are also different types of class action suits. The most basic difference is whether theyre filed on a state or a federal level. Suits that take place within a state and have claims of less than a certain amount of money are usually filed with state courts. Those with claims of over a certain amount are automatically pushed into federal court. Many times, defendants will try to get their lawsuits heard in federal court. Traditionally, this is more in their favor. Becoming part of a class action lawsuit can be a lengthy process, but it can help you get your voice heard.
Author Resource:
Dan Goldman is the author of this article on Osmoprep Lawsuit .
Find more information about Osmoprep Class Action here.