South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
The term “mass tort” defines a specific type of civil lawsuit in which a “tort,” a wrongful act that causes injury, has affected masses of people. Class action lawsuits also involve many people; however, mass tort differs from a class-action lawsuit in a number of specific ways. In our Fort Lauderdale office, we can help you understand what it means to participate in a mass tort lawsuit given your injury.
Difference between Class Action and Mass Tort lawsuits
A class-action lawsuit involves a large number of individuals who have experienced similar harm from a product or event and for whom fair compensation is not large enough to justify separate cases. A class-action lawsuit is a single suit with many plaintiffs who will share in the distribution of any settlement or awards. One law firm represents all injured parties and argues for them as one entity. For instance, in 2017, Visa and Mastercard settled a lawsuit for overcharging fees to retailers. They settled for $7.5 billion, with each retailer receiving a small portion of the settlement due to the sheer number of plaintiffs. Many other class-action lawsuits have been filed for defective products and wrongful acts due to corporate negligence.