Class actions allow one or a few named plaintiffs (injured people) to bring suit on behalf of many injured people. An example would be defective hip replacement units that have been shown to be bad. The advantage is that one or a few cases are actually tried, and if successful, then a settlement is usually reached and money distrubuted to all the injured people in the “class” or group without individual trials.
Some people feel that only the lawyers get a large amount of money and sometimes that is true. But, for example, in the cigarette cases, the world is a safer place because of these cases.
Contacting a lawyer with experience in personal injury cases will tell you if you should bring an individual case or if you are part of a class. Also remember, there may be a second case, like a medical malpractice case in addition to a product liability case for a bad device or product.