The popular arthritis drug, Celebrex, has been prescribed to over 29 million people since it was introduced a decade ago, according to the Pfizer website. The first of what is believed to be a flood of class action lawsuits was filed in Illinois in late 2004 and the tally will probably swell as the number of end users experience adverse health problems from using the painkiller and inflammation reducer over a period of time. A Celebrex class action lawsuit aggregates mass claims into a single action brought by one or more representatives of the class.

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

There are pros and cons to a Celebrex class action lawsuit. Filing as a class has benefits. You may receive compensation for a wrong, injury, or loss you have sustained -- compensation that may not have been available to you in any other forum. Through inclusion in a class of similarly harmed persons, you also demonstrate to the court that the alleged harm done was substantial and impacted a large number of people, increasing both the likelihood of recovery and its size. Moreover, the only costs to you will be drawn from any settlement or judgment proceeds upon successful resolution of the case. By pooling money and hiring a class action attorney, individuals can compete with the giant pharmaceutical.

Disadvantages to a Celebrex class action lawsuit include the chance that your total damage award will be somewhat lower than what you would have received had you filed separately. Another disadvantage of a class action suit is that you lose the freedom of running your own trial, including the freedom to use a number of legal options such as settling out of court on your own claim. In an individual action, your attorney will tailor his or her trial tactics to your precise situation and deal with you as an individual as opposed to legal representation from a class action lawyer who you may never have seen or dealt with.

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

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