Pennsylvania Class Action Product Liability Lawsuits

Here are answers to frequently asked questions about Pennsylvania class Action Lawsuits.

1. You or a family member has been hurt by a defective product. Should you join a class action suit against the manufacturer or file your own claim?

   The answer depends on the nature and severity of the harm done, the constituency of the plaintiff group, and other factors. Class actions are generally designed to help consumers who have been financially harmed but not generally people who have suffered a bodily injury. For instance, let's say you bought a cell phone with a defective battery; as a result of the defect, you had to pay an extra $70 to get a back-up battery. This $70 claim in and of itself doesn't constitute a serious claim. In other words, you are likely not going to attract a high profile lawyer to take your case. However, if tens of thousands of customers have had the same complaint--and each one lost $70--the case suddenly becomes appealing to potential attorneys.

2. When might a Pennsylvania Court allow a class of people to file suit against a manufacturer or designer for a design or manufacturing defect?

   In general, a plaintiff "class" must meet the following thresholds. First, the plaintiffs must be numerous enough such that individual lawsuits against the defendant would be impractical. Second, the legal representatives must be adequately disposed to help the clients--in other words, lawyers can't forge class action suits out of superficial issues to "shake down" businesses: there must be a serious and substantial claim. Third, the plaintiffs must have common complaints about a product/service. Finally, these complaints must be "typical"--individual cases need not be exactly the same, but these cases must demonstrate a general and common problem, in other words.

3. If you're a member of a plaintiff class, must you join a class action suit?

   It depends. In the majority of consumer product related class actions, you're automatically entered as a plaintiff if you are a member of a plaintiff class. In fact, it may be up to you to opt out of the suit.

   Opting out may make sense in certain circumstances. Perhaps the damage caused to you was above and beyond the damage caused to the average plaintiff. For instance, let's say a class is suing over a poorly designed brake pad system. Most plaintiffs discovered the bad brakes without getting hurt first, but the bad brakes caused you to skid into a tree and total your car. Since your damages are more significant than the average plaintiff's, your product liability lawyer might urge you to opt out of the class action and seek damages separately.

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