If you’re planning on filing a lawsuit, you probably have what you believe to be evidence that you were wronged in some regard. Understanding evidence, however, does take some real legal knowledge. In fact, you may find that, upon meeting with your attorney, they don’t really believe that the things you consider to be evidence […]
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Police Sued Over Privacy Violations
CNN reported that a police department in Washington is facing a lawsuit over violating the rights of inmates. The reporting details that 11 women and 1 man are suing a police department over alleged instances where the inmates—who were all arrested on suspicion of drunk driving—were recorded while they were undressing and using the toilet. […]
Frivolous Lawsuits Get too Much Publicity
The idea behind a lawsuit is to give a person who was wronged because of another person’s negligence away to get compensated. This can include suing manufacturers for putting dangerous products out on the market when they should’ve known better, suing motorists who are prone to driving dangerously and end up hurting or killing someone […]
Dog Bites and Liability
Unfortunately, many dog owners are not responsible with their animals. In fact, it’s quite reasonable to argue that the biggest cause of dog bites has nothing to do with dogs, but with the people who are in charge of taking care of those dogs. There are differences on a state-by-state basis as to how much […]
Daycare Worker Arrested for Raping Children
For parents with children in daycare, a nightmare scenario seems to be unfolding in Ohio. According to NewsOK, a daycare worker has been arrested on two counts of rape. The woman, according to the article, had engaged in sexual conduct with an infant and made a video of herself doing it. Police claim that they […]
Class Action Against LinkedIn Reveals Importance of TOS
If you’ve gotten emails that appear to be from a friend of yours but that were actually from LinkedIn giving a pitch for the website, you’re not alone. In fact, a lawsuit has been filed against the business social networking website alleging that the company breaks into email accounts, uses the contact list to send […]
Can You Sue a Company for Mishandling Your Information?
Today, it’s not uncommon for companies with whom people do very casual business – cellular phone companies, Internet service providers, etc. – to have some very sensitive information about their clients. For example, Social Security numbers are routinely used as forms of identification and many companies require that information in order to open an account. […]
Why Do Personal Injury Attorneys Turn Down Cases?
There are instances when a personal injury attorney may turn down your claim. This may leave you wondering if there is any hope for justice but, keep in mind the fact that civil lawsuits are not really about justice; they’re about compensation. If you’ve been turned down as a client by an attorney, some or […]
How Do You Sue on Behalf of a Child
Some of the largest jury awards are actually handed out to children. These occur in cases involving medical malpractice during birth, car accidents that permanently damage a child and in other cases. Obviously, a child cannot enter into a contract or take any other legal action of their own accord. Parents are the ones who […]
What Are Class Action Lawsuits?
What You Need To Know About Class Action Lawsuits
You’ve probably heard of class action lawsuits and, in fact, you may have even received a check from one when you had no idea that you were eligible to receive money at all before you were notified that you were added to the lawsuit in the mail. Class-action lawsuits are specific types of lawsuits that are oftentimes utilized when there are so many people who have a similar complaint against a company or another entity that it would be difficult to have all of their cases heard separately. There are specific types of cases that tend to result in these actions.
Many Different Claims
The hallmark of a class-action lawsuit is that there are a huge number of plaintiffs involved. In order to have a class action lawsuit, each one of these plaintiffs must have a relatively similar complaint against the entity being sued.
A good example of this can be found in just about every claim involving a pharmaceutical product that has proven to be dangerous to users and, further, that was not disclosed as presenting those dangers when it was put on the market. Because there are specific side effects and symptoms that arise from the use of the drug, the plaintiffs naturally have similar complaints against the manufacturer. This allows these plaintiffs to be grouped together into what is called a class.
That class of plaintiffs will have their cases heard via representative actions. There may be more than one representative claim involved in the class-action or there may only be one. The idea is that this representative claim mirrors the other claims filed against the same entity closely enough that it is reasonable to hear that one claim and to rule based on that claim while still providing a fair trial for the plaintiffs.
Do You Have a Claim?
If you have the sort of claim that lends itself to a class action or if there is a class action that you believe you should be a party to, you can contact an attorney and inquire with them about it. You may also simply get a note in the mail at some point informing you that you are eligible to be part of a class action claim and that your name has been added to the list of people who will receive a payout in the event that it goes your way. These types of claims are very common these days, and they allow people all over the country to participate in a lawsuit that would otherwise require them to travel long distances or to hire their own representation.
Dietary Supplements, Herbal Remedies and Defective Products
If you’re a health nut, you’ve probably been exposed to plenty of literature and advertisements for products that make claims that haven’t been approved by the FDA. These include:
- Herbal supplements
- Dietary supplements
- “Natural” treatments
These products line the shelves of health food stores, holistic medicine provider shops and other establishments. They’re very popular. One of the dangers of these products is that their claims have not been established as being true or false, however. There are standards to which they do have to adhere, but there is a definitive element of caveat emptor to consider when buying these supplements and other supplies. If you believe that one has caused you harm, you should definitely speak with a defective products attorney.
It’s Not Medicine
One of the things that you should understand before you start buying these products is what a double-blind study is. These are the types of studies that are usually conducted to get reliable data on the efficacy-and safety-of pharmaceutical products. Many of the supplements on the market have never been subjected to these types of studies. While the marketing for these products will sometimes claim that the scientific establishment doesn’t want you to know about the wonderful power of these pills, the manufacturers clearly do not want their claims scientifically tested, either.
Herbal and Dietery Supplements Do Get Recalled
The FDA does make recalls of these products from time to time. Some recent recalls include:
Healthy People Co. Dietary Supplements, manufactured by Healthy People Co. This was recalled in February of 2012 because the supplement had undeclared drug ingredients in it.
RegenArouse by Regeneca, Inc. was recalled in February of 2012 because the intimacy enhancement capsules were an unapproved new drug.
These supplements, of course, make claims that have not been approved by the FDA, but the FDA does have the authority to take them off of the market when they make specific claims or when they contain elements that run afoul of regulations.
When Defective Herbal and Dietery Supplements Harm People
A defective products attorney may be able to help you if you were injured by one of these products. The fact that they tend to qualify their claims by saying that they have not been evaluated by the FDA doesn’t provide the companies that manufacture these products with a shield against liability. Understanding how product liability law works should give you some insight into this.
Products can be held to be defective in their design, manufacture or advertising. No matter which way one of these products turns out to be defective, if it harms you, you should contact a personal injury attorney to see about whether or not seeking compensation via a lawsuit would be a viable option for you. If it is, the personal injury lawyer may want to represent you and go after the company in court. Any product that is on the market needs to be safe. Whether its claims are inflated or not, the product should not cause the consumers who utilize it to come to harm or to experience undisclosed side effects.