Can you sue a manufacturer for a possible injury

[bigtecsks]

Looks like you are correct:

The [Cook County] Pro Se Small Claims Court works as follows:

• The person filing the complaint (the plaintiff) must be pro se; attorneys are not allowed to file complaints on behalf of clients in this branch.
• Plaintiffs may seek monetary damages only up to $3,000.00.
• Defendants can defend against the complaint either pro se or with an attorney.
• If the defendant appears with a lawyer, the plaintiff has the right to hire an attorney, and the case remains in the Pro Se Branch of the Small Claims Court.
• The judge refers all cases to mediation before hearing the cases to give the parties the opportunity to reach a solution to their conflict on their own.

Pro se means that the person is representing themselves in court without an attorney.

In the state I live (Georgia), the limit is $15,000 state wide, and no restrictions on whether the plaintiff must be pro se or has an attorney.

Dang, I should move to GA. That's a great limit there.

 

[bigtecsks]

Often class action settlements will include not only compensation for the members of the class (the victims) who were harmed but will also include provisions that require correcting whatever it was that caused the injuries suffered by the class members in the first place.

So, you have not only compensation that goes to the class members/victims to reimburse them for their defective equipment but you also have compensation to the victims for any personal injuries suffered from use of the defective equipment, and then you have additional money designated for fixing/repairing/correcting the problem (e.g., to clean up an oil spill, replace faulty machine parts, remove harmful chemicals from products, whatever).

Filing an individual personal injury lawsuit is an alternative to becoming a member of a class action suit. For this you would want an attorney.

Here's the boat for the injury class that sailed...

https://www.respironicspisettlement.com/Home/Index


Wish I had found it sooner. But I am trying to contacting a couple of local injury attorneys. I hear in small claims you don't need proof of injury or whatever. I guess it all depends on time and if I do win how's would I get the company to pay?

 

[bigtecsks]

Often class action settlements will include not only compensation for the members of the class (the victims) who were harmed but will also include provisions that require correcting whatever it was that caused the injuries suffered by the class members in the first place.

So, you have not only compensation that goes to the class members/victims to reimburse them for their defective equipment but you also have compensation to the victims for any personal injuries suffered from use of the defective equipment, and then you have additional money designated for fixing/repairing/correcting the problem (e.g., to clean up an oil spill, replace faulty machine parts, remove harmful chemicals from products, whatever).

Filing an individual personal injury lawsuit is an alternative to becoming a member of a class action suit. For this you would want an attorney.

Unfortunately the first class action was just for reimbursement or replacement of the cpap machine. You'd think they would include injury or whatever. But I guess they did a separate one on that. There is a MAP or medical advancement fund that nobody from the first class action I was part of. Where the claims t can't be reimbursed for injury but that medical reviews etc will give oversight to future injuries etc, that monitors Phillips Resporonics.

 

[quincy]

Unfortunately the first class action was just for reimbursement or replacement of the cpap machine. You'd think they would include injury or whatever. But I guess they did a separate one on that. There is a MAP or medical advancement fund that nobody from the first class action I was part of. Where the claims t can't be reimbursed for injury but that medical reviews etc will give oversight to future injuries etc, that monitors Phillips Resporonics.

I think your best action right now would be to sit down in your area with a personal injury attorney, or two, and have the attorneys hear what you have to say. You may not have enough injury from the use of the device to support damages enough to make a personal injury lawyer want to take you on as a client so try not to be too disappointed.

This is the reason for class actions in the first place - with enough smaller injuries clumped together in one suit, the damages can be significant enough to make pursuing a large company worth an attorney’s time and expense.

This is not to say that you do not have a case with merit that you might be able to pursue, but it could mean you must pursue it on your own. I suggest you find out what the attorneys you see say and take it from there.

Good luck.