Practice Areas
Class Action Lawsuits
The traditional motto of the United States is E pluribus unum, Latin for “Out of many, one” — class action lawsuits are prime examples of individuals banding together for the singular goal of justice.
Class action lawsuits allow for many people who have the same injury or injustice in common to join together in one efficient case. Attorneys help identify the best plaintiff’s circumstance to use as a representative for the rest, and are able to advocate for many clients at once.
The benefits of class actions include efficiency, lower risk, and higher reward. Class action suits save enormous amounts of time for individuals. They also provide the best possible results for the largest number of plaintiffs by using the strongest case to take to court. There is a lower cost for litigation because the work is divided among so many plaintiffs, and there’s also a higher likelihood of financial recovery for all involved.
The attorneys at Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. have decades of experience in advocating for personal injury clients, including a $23 million dollar class action award against an insurance company. If you need to start or join a class action suit, reach out to us online or by calling (205) 322-8880 for a free, confidential consultation. For more information on what class action suits provide and how they work, read on.
What Kind of Compensation Can a Class Action Lawsuit Provide?
Class action lawsuit settlement funds and rewards may cover:
- Refunds for money stolen or mishandled
- Medical bill payment in cases of physical injury
- Compensation for pain, suffering, or time spent dealing with the incident
- Vouchers for future products or services
- Non-monetary remedies like disclosure (admitting to what happened) or reform (promising to never do it again)
- Attorneys’ fees coverage for the cost associated with preparing and pursuing the case
Among the exemplary case results achieved by Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. is a class action award of $23 million dollars. The case involved Physicians Mutual Insurance Company’s failure to pay for the benefits purchased by their customers. Those defrauded customers became our class of clients throughout the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Such large payouts are shared amongst all who signed up for the class action suit.
Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. has successfully handled nationwide multi-million dollar class action cases. Join us to claim your fair share of the rewards you deserve.
What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?
A class action lawsuit is a legal filing that allows one case to represent a larger group, or “class.” A class is composed of those with a mutual interest or shared injury/injustice. These cases would likely be unmanageable or even impossible to settle one by one through our complex court systems.
By joining similar cases together, class action lawsuits bring the largest number of plaintiffs the highest possible reward. While your individual case may not be strong enough to pursue alone (insufficient or unclear evidence, for example), by joining a class action lawsuit, you become part of the strongest case in the bunch. That person is known as the “lead plaintiff.”
The lawsuit is developed based on the circumstances of the lead plaintiff (or named plaintiff or class representative)—their reward is your reward too. You may be able to access that compensation via the simple act of signing your name to an agreement. No cost, no consultation, and no risk involved on your part.
What Types of Cases Become Class Action Suits?
Many class action lawsuits are filed against large corporations that have nearly endless amounts of money to frustrate legal pursuits from individuals. The numbers are on our side in class action cases, signaling to companies and their corporate lawyers that there are too many plaintiffs to dismiss—it’s time to pay up.
Examples of class action lawsuit cases include:
Patients who were given or implanted with defective medical products (drugs like birth control pills or devices like artificial hips)
Customers who were underserved, overcharged, defrauded, or provided faulty goods, including identity theft and data breach issues
Workers who were underpaid in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (wage theft)
Residents of an area that was poisoned or damaged by toxic exposure or a preventable fire
Members of a minority that is being discriminated against in business, housing, medicine, or government protections
The “class” in a class action suit may be comprised of patients, customers, workers, residents, or members of a minority—anyone part of the affected group may join.
How Do You Start a Class Action Lawsuit? Or Join One?
Once they’re begun, class action suits can snowball, gaining plaintiffs and momentum as the word gets out. But how do you begin a class action lawsuit?
How to Start a Class Action Lawsuit
When it comes to how to file a class action lawsuit, that’s a job for your attorney. Your action is simple: contact a lawyer with class action experience as soon as possible.
It’s often attorneys who recognize the class action potential of a case. An attorney may obtain clients for a case after a far-reaching disaster (large fires, building collapses, or product recalls). A lawyer may also recognize that behind one client, there may be many more who have the same issue (sexual assault or harassment cases, a defective medical device or negligent doctor, or insurance fraud).
You may not know for sure if your individual issue is a problem affecting dozens, hundreds, or thousands of other people. By reaching out today, you could start the investigation that saves your neighbors money, hardship, or even saves their lives.
How to Join a Class Action Lawsuit
If a class action lawsuit is already proposed or in progress, joining can be as easy as signing an online petition. Such is the case for product recalls—if you affirm that you bought the product, sometimes even without receipts, you may be in. For more complex cases, like recalls for cancer-causing products, you may need to call an attorney to verify your diagnosis and eligibility.
It doesn’t hurt to ask, and it may lead to enormous benefits for you and/or your community. Call Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. at (205) 322-8880 for information and eligibility requirements for ongoing class action suits.
Contact an Experienced Class Action Attorney
Class action cases can be greatly beneficial to plaintiffs who sign on, making a legal case accessible for far more individuals, and increasing the award potential for all. More than a win-win, it’s an exponential win that covers every party involved.
Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. is headquartered in Alabama, and regularly handles nationwide cases in personal injury, auto accident, medical and pharmaceutical litigation, consumer protection, and bad faith claims. These cases range from individual injuries to multiple-client class action suits. Our track record of success contains record-setting wins, including a multi-million dollar class action verdict.
We believe in personal attention, and always prioritize our clients’ best interests in every case we pursue. When you join one of our class action lawsuits, you’ll feel that personal attention no matter how many others share in it. Contact or call us today at (205) 322-8880 for your one-on-one consultation—we never lose sight of the individual while we fight for the greater good.
Client Testimonials for Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C.
Hear from our previous clients about the service and support they received from our firm:
My case was one that was a part of a nationwide claim. I researched and prayed for the appropriate attorney and I found that in Mike Bradley. While my case lasted, Mike and his assistant Karen stayed current and knowledgeable on the status and updates. I never once called or emailed that one of them didn’t respond to me immediately. Mike would call to answer an email because he felt it would be more personal and efficient than typing. I highly recommend this firm.
Cathye H.
We filed a lawsuit against an insurance company. No one likes to face the legal procedure of recovery but that must happen sometimes. The firm handled our case smoothly through arbitration and recovered our costs adequately. We felt that we were properly advised, they were thorough, very professional, and a pleasure to work with.
J. Criswell
I feel very fortunate to have met this firm. During the first conference, my attorney made me feel totally at ease when sharing my situation with him. He has a way about him that makes you feel his sincerity and honesty. Thank you for taking my burden and for the wonderful job that you did to complete my case successfully. I am VERY PLEASED!
Doris M.
Frequently Asked Questions
Class action lawsuits can lead to massive, far-reaching results for the people involved. Some major class action cases of note include:
- Brown v. Board of Education: In this landmark class action case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional, which ended racial school segregation nationwide.
- Groundwater Contamination by Pacific Gas & Electric: Made famous as the Erin Brockovich case, a class action lawsuit with over 600 plaintiffs resulted in a $333 million arbitration for those who alleged injury from drinking water contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.
- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: After the deadly explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, a class action decision created two settlement funds (one for economic damages, and one for medical claims) out of the billions owed by BP oil and gas. The suit covered 100,000 claims by property owners, fishermen, and other individuals impacted by the lengthy and catastrophic disaster.
In most instances, you have a period of two years to file a lawsuit after the date of a car accident. Once this filing deadline closes, you may not be able to bring legal action anymore. Thus, it’s important that you contact a lawyer as soon as possible if you or a loved one have been in a car accident, especially since this timeline varies state-to-state.
In Alabama, where Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. is headquartered, the deadline for filing is two years.
Minor car accident claims can be settled in a week, but the more complex the crash, or the more support needed for your injuries, the longer it may take—sometimes months or even years.
While the law usually provides a two-year window for you to file a personal injury claim related to a car accident, your bills and costs begin piling up right away. As soon as your vehicle is hit, you may be out of transportation, out of a job if you can’t get there without a car, in the hospital, or in the horrible circumstance of having to bury a loved one. Time is not on your side.
Hiring a car accident lawyer right away allows us to keep up on top of your deadlines, and provides you with as speedy a settlement as possible.
You should not agree to anything without first consulting with your own attorney.
If your property damage and injuries are minor enough, small claims can sometimes be handled between individuals and insurance companies. However, if your injuries worsen, and you’ve accepted a low-ball amount from an insurance company looking to cut costs, the financial burden is then left to you.
It costs nothing to reach out to Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. at (205) 322-8880 for a free consultation, and it could help you skip over many avoidable pitfalls. Let our years of experience save you critical time after a crash.
