Litigation

Class Action Lawsuits vs. Individual and Mass Tort Lawsuits When people hear about large lawsuits involving thousands of victims, they often assume the case is a class action. However, there are important differences between a class action lawsuit, an individual lawsuit, and a mass tort case where one lawyer or law firm represents many people. A class action lawsuit combines the claims of many people into a single case. A few selected plaintiffs represent the entire group, known as the class. If the case results in a settlement or verdict, the outcome generally applies to all eligible class members. Class actions are commonly used when each person’s damages are relatively small, making individual lawsuits impractical. An individual lawsuit is different because one person files a claim on their own behalf. The plaintiff has direct control over the case, settlement negotiations, and legal decisions. Any compensation awarded is based solely on that individual’s damages and circumstances. There is also a third type of litigation known as a mass tort. In a mass tort, one lawyer or law firm may represent hundreds or even thousands of clients, but each person still maintains an individual claim. The cases may be coordinated together for efficiency, but they are not merged into a single class action. Each client’s injuries, damages, and potential settlement are evaluated separately. This distinction is important because mass tort plaintiffs often receive compensation based on the severity of their individual injuries, while class action members typically share a common settlement fund. Many high-profile product liability cases involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, or consumer products have been handled as mass torts rather than class actions. In short, a class action is one lawsuit representing many people, an individual lawsuit represents a single plaintiff, and a mass tort involves many individual plaintiffs represented by the same legal team while retaining separate claims. Understanding these differences helps explain why some large legal cases result in equal payments for all participants, while others produce different outcomes for each claimant.