Suffered harm from Bextra? You may have a lawsuit. Click here, for a top rated law firm to evaluate your legal rights.

Is it worth it to file as a class or are you better off filing a separate claim? It depends. Filing as a class has benefits, such as added clout in terms of sheer numbers of affected people increasing the likelihood of recovery and its size. It also gives access to the courts for individuals whose injuries would not justify the costs of litigation; by pooling money, expenses are shared, making it a cost-effective remedy for smaller claims and more affordable to pursue. Class actions also avoid clogging the courts with the separate claims of people who have been injured by the same product and have comparable claims; it also avoids the necessity of repeating the same witnesses, reconstructing the same exhibits, and re-litigating the same issues from trial to trial. In this context, it is more manageable to have the case tried as a class rather than as single suits.

The major disadvantage to a Bextra class action is the chance that you may recoup less money in a class action than what you would have received had you filed separately. Though difficult to figure out the exact allocation of your portion of a settlement from a class action, it still makes sense to compare the amount you would get in an individual case with the allocation in a Bextra class action damage award; the class action settlement is likely to be less. Another disadvantage of a class action suit is that you lose the freedom of aggressively running your own trial. In an individual lawsuit, the court and all parties focus on your precise situation. You have personalized legal representation given to your unique circumstances as an individual as opposed to legal representation from a class action lawyer who you may never have seen or dealt with. In a class-action lawsuit, you become bound to both the timetable and the outcome of the class action suit. Once you join a class action as a member, you cannot file your own separate claim or negotiate your own individual settlement. You also may be forced to wait longer for a recovery in a class suit; an individual suit may not linger as long.

For more information on individual lawsuits, see the sections on Filing a Lawsuit and How to Select a Lawyer.

Suffered harm from Bextra? You may have a lawsuit. Click here, for a top rated law firm to evaluate your legal rights.