Sometimes, the products people use in their daily lives cause injury, not due to negligence on the part of the user, but rather on the negligence of the manufacturer. In some cases, the entire product line is faulty, and then many users suffer. In those situations, it may be possible to open a class action or mass tort lawsuit against the manufacturer. Often, in the case of class-action lawsuits in particular, a filer merely is looking for others who suffered from injury due to the product and may be interested in compensation for their injury but cannot find representation.

Many people think that a class action and a mass tort lawsuit are the same. They couldn't be more wrong. Though both bundle multiple plaintiff claims against one defendant, judges treat them differently. This is due to a difference in filing procedure.

A class action lawsuit involves a single entity or individual filing a claim on behalf of a large number of affected individuals. Usually, people file a class action lawsuit in situations where a single award would not be large enough to cover attorney's fees (situations suitable for a small-claims court). Class action lawsuits often aren't beneficial if a particular plaintiff suffered significantly larger damages than others in the class because class action law blocks varying damages (all awards are the same, no matter if the damage was temporary disability or permanent loss of livelihood), even if the person didn't participate in the original class.

In a mass tort case, on the other hand, each plaintiff is a separate party to the case. However, the court tries each case simultaneously. Because you are not part of a single "class," the court awards you individual damages rather than a single sum which the defendant agrees to pay to everyone who suffered from the same product. Participants usually pool legal resources, making a mass tort lawsuit more feasible for those who may not be able to pay a lawyer.

In both a class action and mass tort lawsuit, however, the court saves time and money because it doesn't need to retry the same issue multiple times as it would have to do if everyone filed individual lawsuits against the same company because of injury from the same product. However, before you sign up for a class action or mass tort lawsuit, you should consult a legal professional.