The prospect of pursuing a personal injury lawsuit on your own can be intimidating and frightening, especially when the liable party is a large corporation. You may feel as though you have no chance to win compensation. Even with an attorney’s help, it may seem impossible to obtain the compensation that you deserve.
Thankfully, situations can arise that allow multiple injured people to come together to pursue a single lawsuit against a common defendant. These lawsuits can help people to even the odds by pooling resources, sharing evidence, and obtaining a verdict in a single legal action. We call these lawsuits mass torts.
We May Be Able to Help You Pursue the Compensation You Deserve
Federal law provides strict rules concerning when these lawsuits are appropriate. A New Orleans mass torts lawyer could help you determine if you qualify to begin a mass tort or join a case that is ongoing. We work on a contingency fee basis, so if you decide to hire us, you pay nothing up front or out of pocket.
We want to be of service to you without draining your wallet. If we can obtain a fair court award, we take our fees from there.
The legal professionals at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can explain the concept of mass torts, evaluate whether you qualify to join an existing lawsuit, and work to seek out the compensation you deserve with as little stress to you as possible. You have dealt with enough by suffering injuries. Let us handle your whole case while you prioritize your health.
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Mass Torts vs. Traditional Personal Injury Lawsuits
Most lawsuits that demand compensation following a personal injury are individual affairs. The victim measures how the incident has impacted their life, gathers evidence concerning the at-fault party’s role in the incident, and demands payment through insurance settlements or lawsuits.
At the most, an injured person may join their case with one or two other people who suffered injuries in the same event. This most often occurs when multiple family members are involved in a traffic accident or an injury due to a defective product.
When Multiple People Are Victims of the Same Entity
However, situations may arise in which multiple people suffer harm from an incident involving the same negligent party, and they endure similar losses. At-fault parties in these incidents are typically companies or government entities whose actions affect thousands, if not millions, of people.
If these actions result in harm that affects many people in a substantially similar way, the law allows these people to bind their cases into a single mass tort. Our New Orleans lawyer can provide more information about how mass torts allow multiple injured people to merge their cases into a single lawsuit.
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The Legal Procedures for Creating a Mass Tort
Unfortunately, not every injured person meets the requirements to create or join a mass tort. The procedure for starting this process is present in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which outlines the criteria that injured parties must meet to request mass tort certification.
The victims must share a common complaint against a single defendant. In simpler language, the plaintiffs must be able to connect their losses to the singular acts of a common at-fault party. For example, many people may suffer injuries after a factory explosion. The injured people must be prepared to accept a single verdict that applies to all their cases. This could significantly reduce compensation for some parties, while others may be awarded higher payments than they would have received in a separate case.
Pursuing a Lawsuit
Finally, pursuing a lawsuit as a part of a mass tort consolidates multiple, complex cases into a single lawsuit. People who pursue damages through a mass tort can file a single lawsuit in court. This may result in a single trial, using one set of evidence, one expert’s opinion, and one set of affidavits to prove the cases of hundreds or even thousands of people.
The legal professionals at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers can explain the legal processes involved in pursuing a mass tort and how they may benefit your case.
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Examples of Events That Could Lead to Mass Torts
Every day, large companies and government agencies make decisions that affect millions of people. These organizations have an obligation to always protect their constituents or customers. Nevertheless, incidents can occur that result in catastrophic damages and affect the lives of victims in multiple ways. It is when multiple victims come forward with injuries that mass torts may be appropriate.
Perhaps the most common example is an industrial disaster. Oil spills, mining accidents, toxic waste dumps, and groundwater pollution all have the potential to injure large numbers of people. Defective products or drugs also often lead to mass torts against manufacturers or distributors.
We Will Handle Your Entire Case
A lawyer in our New Orleans office could take the lead in evaluating your mass torts case and making connections to other victims. It is vital to make this determination quickly. A failure to certify as a mass tort means that injured people must pursue their cases on their own.
CC Art. 3492 says that individuals have only one year from the date of injury to demand compensation in most cases. Reaching out to an attorney on our team today is ideal because it gives them the time they need to build a strong, compelling case. You do not want to wait just before the deadline as there may not be enough time to collect all evidence needed and connect your case to others. We want to attain the best possible outcome for you, so getting started sooner than later is important.
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Recoverable Damages in a Mass Tort Case
You have likely suffered several economic and non-economic damages, and you may be able to receive compensation for them. Damages in mass torts involve the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses
- Property damage
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Disability
- Physical/emotional therapy
- Loss of income
- Reduced earning capacity
An attorney with our firm will fight to get you compensated for losses you suffered in a preventable accident.
Mass Torts Can Offer a Way to Demand Compensation with Minimal Stress
Pursuing proper compensation following a personal injury can be vital to putting your life back on the right path. Your story may be similar to that of dozens or hundreds of other victims. If a defendant’s actions have harmed multiple people in a similar way stemming from a single incident or product, those people may have the option of joining their cases into a mass tort.
Joining cases into a mass tort carries many advantages. Injured people can pool their resources, use one set of expert reports, and hold a single trial to determine the defendants’ liability. However, the requirements to qualify as a mass tort are strict, and a failure to meet these requirements may result in time running out on your case.
Call Us Today for Your Free Case Review
Connect with us in our New Orleans office today. The legal team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers is ready to talk with you and discuss the options you have in your mass torts case. Contact us at (504) 777-7777 to get started.
Get The HelpYou Need(504) 777-7777To Schedule a FREE CONSULATION
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