Looking for info/advice on joining a class action lawsuit. Have you ever taken part in one? (besides the ones that you get added into without doing anything? I’ve gotten those little checks from Netflix or whatever before, but I never had to find a lawyer.)
I’m still in the ‘looking into things and gathering info’ stage, but I think I may be one of the people who got gallbladder disease from birth control. To make a long story short, about a year ago, when I saw the symptoms of women taking Yaz/Yasmine, I went online and read a bit about it. I posted on an law firm’s online site asking if the lawsuit was just for that brand name and was informed it was. So I forgot about it (I took a different name brand, but with the same hormone, desogestrel, that is thought to be causing the problems). Now a few months ago I was contacted by the law firm I originally was emailing about it, asking if I wanted to send them info on the brand I took with my medical history as apparently they are looking into suing other brands.
A few things. Are class action lawsuits like this generally worth it for the patients or does the money pretty much just go to the lawyers? How should I go about picking a law firm - will I ever even talk to someone in person or am I just a number? Does the specific lawyer even matter or do I just join up with anyone taking these cases? I am hesitant about sending off my medical records to some random online firm to do whatever with - plus getting ahold of all the info they want is time consuming (and costs money to get my records copied from my Dr. office). I’ve so far just been talking to/emailing a clerk. I don’t know how much time/expense to take right now since there’s no guarantee that I will even be eligible or that this lawsuit will take place. But at the same time, if these drugs are harming lots of people I want it to be known, I had surgery 6 years ago and I still have ongoing issues from it.
I guess I’m just looking for experiences with class action type cases like this.
A class action suit is, generally, good for the lawyers and not so great for the participants. First, you’ll want to contact the law firm to see if you qualify for the suit.
A few pros and cons:
Pros:
You don’t have to do anything but opt in to the suit. You’re not a named plaintiff. You’re not required to show up at any court hearings or negotiations (though you can if you want to).
You don’t spend any money on legal fees. You don’t have to go through the hassle of finding your own attorney and wading through the legal process by yourself.
Cons:
You have no negotiating power. The attorneys represent you, but will not come to you seeking your approval on any actions, which means the settlement is entirely out of your hands.
The settlement itself will be first given to the attorneys to subtract out costs and fees (typically 33-40% of the entire settlement). Then the rest is divided up between all claimants, which means you’re probably getting way less than would typically “make you whole” for whatever the cause.
This is fine if you’re getting $2.98 plus a free rental from BlockBuster because of a settlement. You’re like “well…neat. I guess.” Probably not so much when you have an actual ailment that’s cost significant amounts of money.
Plus the settlement itself will almost always bar you from future action against this company for this issue.
Does the settlement get divided up equally in cases like this? There are some people who claim relatives died or had major blood clots from this medication, I would assume they would get more money than people who had more (relatively) minor issues like me.
If I do find out I qualify, should I ‘shop around’ for lawyers or are they all pretty much the same when it comes to these giant cases?
Is there any downside to sending out my medical files to a law firm in another state? Yes, I originally ‘contacted’ them by clicking on their website and giving them my email address, I am just hesitant about sending them so much personal info without ever meeting them.
You don’t get to (or have to) shop around for a lawyer at all, if the case is already in the process of being filed or filed. The lawyers who are handling it are the lawyers for everyone. If you qualify, you will just be a member of the class and should be entitled to a tiny portion of the settlement if there is one. If they are still looking for “class representatives,” or named plaintiffs, and they want to use you as a class rep, and you agree, a lot more could be required of you (having your deposition taken, for example) but you would also get more money. Class reps can get $10,000 each or even more. Varies greatly. If you’re just a member of the class, you scarcely have to do anything – just opt in, hope there’s a settlement, and wait for your (likely minimal) amount of money. As for different people getting different amounts based on their experiences/injuries, yes, this can happen; also varies greatly. Ultimately the lawyers will get way more than any class members, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t opt in if you qualify.
Meant to add to last sentence that of course as **Ender **notes, the downside of opting in is you will not be able to pursue a regular lawsuit on your own on these facts. Maybe you could get a larger settlement on your own – but you would be on your own – find your own lawyer, be a plaintiff, get your deposition taken, be involved. You might not want to go down this road since it is way more work. There are no guarantees you would get a big settlement. A lot can happen in litigation.
It depends- my father was part of a class action lawsuit that settled for $415 million dollars. As I remember it, the payments to class members were divided up based on their individual damages, with the class representatives getting an extra payment. The size of the settlement is going to depend greatly on the case- my father’s payment was over $100K. And the lawyers did get plenty, but I don’t think anyone would have done better filing individual lawsuits - not everyone would have filed, those that did would have drawn different judges rather than there being a single case with almost 4000 plaintiffs , and each of those cases would have required the plaintiff to prove that the defendant illegally discriminated against workers to keep them from getting a pension.
I wrote the following reply before realizing that you didn’t take Yaz. But if you took a generic version (with the synthetic Drospirenone hormone) you could still join the Yaz MDL. . .I’ll keep this post up, just in case someone else with Yaz injuries reads it.
I know this thread is from October, but I stumbled upon it while doing research on the Yaz litigation and thought I’d chime in since I’m currently involved with the lawsuit and getting ready to enter into settlement discussions with my law firm and Bayer because of the major DVT and massive pulmonary embolism that nearly killed me.
First of all, I’d like to clarify that it’s NOT a Class Action lawsuit, it’s a Multi-District Litigation (MDL). What this means is each plaintiff files their own complaint and each case is treated individually (for the most part). If a settlement occurs you wouldn’t get a piece of a pie, you would be given your own settlement based on your own injuries. They do create a settlement matrix though, so everyone with similar injuries will receive a similar settlement amount.
Now, with that being said the DVT, blood clot, and pulmonary embolism cases are currently being settled for undisclosed dollar amounts (the average is approx $215K though). HOWEVER, the gallbladder cases are not even being looked at and Bayer denies there is any correlation between their BCP and the gallbladder complications being reported. So, if you are looking for a quick settlement payout, you’re not going to find it being part of the Yaz MDL.
Honestly though, you have nothing to lose. Interview a couple of lawyers and choose one you are comfortable with. Join the lawsuit because you want to add your voice to the woman who have been injured by this awful drug and you want your story to be heard. Don’t do it because you think you’re going to make some money, because the likelihood of that happening is small and this entire lawsuit will take YEARS to resolve (I filed my case in 2010).