Beer advocaten
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Class action
Class actions concern loss caused by one or related similar incidents to a large group of injured parties. Examples are aviation accidents, fires, the use of unsafe medication or exposure to toxic substances. In cases like that each victim individually could hold the party causing the loss liable. But because of the extent of the loss and the complexity, this usually leads to long-winded and laborious negotiations and procedures. Alternatively, victims can file a class action. In a class action, an interest organisation will represent the group of victims. Before, courts could only determine the liability of the party causing the loss, but could not award monetary compensation to a group of claimants. Each victim had to go through individual proceedings to get compensation. This changed with the introduction of the Settling of Large-scale Losses or Damage (Class Actions) Act (WAMCA). Since 1 January 2020 it is possible to submit a collective claim for compensation. This means that liability can be determined and compensation be awarded in one proceedings. This makes it easier for victims to recover their loss.
Beer advocaten is and has been involved in several national and international large-scale class actions, like the Probo Koala toxic waste dump, the MH17 air crash, the Q-fever epidemic, the Vioxx case and the outbreak of legionnaire’s disease at the Westfriese Flora flower show. In cases like that we work for and together with consumer organisations (like the Consumer’s Association) or claims organisations set up for that specific purpose.