News > What are the different types of mass tort
What are the different types of mass tort
Many times it is possible that products won’t always work as they are intended to, as in some cases they harm the consumer who uses them. If the defective product was distributed worldwide, thousands of people could be harmed by the defect before the manufacturer can pull it from store shelves.
Most of the time the victims of these dangerous products file lawsuits against the manufacturer but the question comes, is there a better option for so many affected individuals ?
There are many class-action lawsuits that help the victims of these to fight for justice, but at the same time these lawsuits have specific regulations that may exclude some individuals from joining. Another type of lawsuit is mass tort which works similarly but allows more victims to join and fight to hold the fault organizations.
Many people have no idea about mass tort, so here’s everything you need to learn about mass tort lawsuits.
Let’s first understand the word “tort.” A tort is simply a wrong with civil that causes harm or loss to another. The injured party can file a lawsuit against the party responsible for committing the tort. The injured party may able to get compensation for the damages that came as a result of the tort.
A mass tort is a lawsuit that involves multiple plaintiffs alleging similar injuries against a product, company, disaster, policy, drug and so on. Unlike class action lawsuits in which it divides a settlement evenly between all plaintiffs, mass tort allows each plaintiff to seek compensation for their individual injuries. Well it involves dangerous products or harmful business practices, or negligence of any organization.
If a lawsuit is successful and it is decided that the plaintiffs are eligible for compensation, more plaintiffs have a certain amount of time to file a claim and receive their compensation.
Class Action vs. Mass Tort
So basically most of the time people think that a mass tort sounds a lot like a class action lawsuit and they are correct (for the most part). Class action lawsuits and mass tort lawsuits are similar in which they both involve multiple plaintiffs coming together against one company or organizations.
The biggest and the measurable difference between class action suits and mass tort suits is how the plaintiffs are defined and treated. With a class action lawsuit, the group of victims must have experienced similar damages.
Example of class action victims is like employees who have faced similar discrimination at office or in organizations, customers who were overcharged for any products or victims who experienced credit card fraud at a certain retail store.
On the other hand rules with mass torts are a little looser, since each individual has experienced different damages or injuries due to any person or product so in this type of cases individual plaintiff’s case is looked at more closely.
What Are Some Examples of Mass Tort Cases ?
There are many types of mass tort that can be filed. Here are some of the most common:
Mass Disaster Torts: In this type of disasters includes natural disasters, man-made accidents, and other large-scale accidents that cause widespread harm to the people and property in the area. Mass disaster tort will allow the injured parties to seek compensation based on their specific damages. According to one research first mass disaster torts were filed after the BP oil spill, columbia gas explosions, and train derailments that resulted in multiple injuries.
Mass Toxic Torts: In this type of tort lawsuits aim to compensate a group of individuals who come in contact of a harmful chemical or substance. The exposure can be due to their occupation, the environment, or pharmaceutical drugs. But all injured parties have to prove that the substance directly harmed them to receive compensation. Different types of lead-based paint, pesticides, and industrial chemicals are commonly at the forefront of mass toxic tort cases.
Product Liability Torts:It is most common type of lawsuit in which if consumers are harmed by using a product for its intended purpose, a product liability tort can help them to seek compensation for their injuries. In this type of case, the plaintiff needs to prove that the product’s design resulted in damage in their scenario. Anyone who suffered any injury from defective product can file a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Conclusion-Sometimes it is confusing and not easy to know if your situation is related to a mass tort lawsuit, but at Lawyer4help, Lawyers made it easy for you to stay involved. If you or a family member were harmed by a defective product, harmful substance, or disaster event, Lawyer4Help is here to help. We are here to help you in your case, get a free, no-risk case evaluation to see if you should go for a mass tort lawsuit.