Lawsuits are too expensive for one
person to sue a whole drug company, but if many people band together and
use one lawyer, the process is much more efficient. The lawyer
doesn't charge anyone a fee if the lawsuit doesn't win, even if the
lawyer spends a lot of money.
Many lawyers don't like to take on
class action lawsuits because if they lose, they're out all the money
they spent on the case, preparing, litigating, paying salaries for the
people who work for them. The lawyers only get paid if they win,
and then they get about a third of the fee.
Without lawsuits, there would be no
reason for drug companies to be careful, and they wouldn't do as much
testing. The drug companies could just do whatever they wanted,
and then if there was side effects, they'd take the drug off the
market. Our system of penalties for drug companies that put drugs
on the market that are unsafe helps insure that the drugs we take won't
hurt us.