Defending against a class action personal injury lawsuit can be challenging. As information about the class action spreads, a domino effect of more and more claims could be filed. And the result can mean hundreds or even thousands of potential plaintiffs. Big class action payouts often attract fraudulent claims of injury. And this could lead to larger class sizes, larger settlements, and larger payouts. And in a class of thousands of claimants, it becomes very difficult, almost impossible, for a legal team to dedicate valuable resources to investigating these claims independently.
Use Cases:
- SMI Aware assisted a national consumer products firm associated with the vaping industry by reviewing class action claimants for legitimacy. By weeding through thousands of claimants’ social media profiles, SMI Aware was able to identify a large number of illegitimate claimants and validate legitimate claims. SMI Aware helped reduce costs associated with reviewing and deposing claimants. At the same time, SMI Aware ensured fraudulent claimants were removed from the class, and legitimate claimants received compensation.
- A law firm representing a cardiac valve medical device company contacted SMI Aware at the onset of a class action personal injury case. SMI Aware reviewed thousands of class action claimants for discrepancies. SMI Aware exposed photos and videos of claimants completing major physical feats like hiking, running, or competing in athletic competitions. Because of SMI Aware’s findings, the representing law firm eliminated fraudulent claims from the class and verify legitimate claims. By reducing the class size, legitimate claimants received the compensation they deserved.
- When a national fast-food chain faced a class action lawsuit spearheaded by current and former employees, they relied on SMI Aware’s social media and web investigations. SMI Aware located all of the participants’ LinkedIn profiles to verify time of employment, job title, and job descriptions. By identifying evidence that verified, disputed, or was inconclusive of scope-related content, the fast-food chain’s legal council focused resources on disproving the eligibility of a few doubtful claimants. Ultimately, this spared the fast-food chain thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal fees and reduced the burden of settling.
Scalable Class Action Investigations with SMI Aware
SMI Aware collected social media and web evidence for the above use cases for use during trial. By preserving original posts, pictures, videos, and comments alongside their metadata and source code, litigators were able to separate fraudulent claimants from legitimate claimants at scale and with quick turnaround time. Outsourcing OSINT research, legal defense teams can more easily investigate thousands of claims with an unbiased, ethical eye. SMI Aware’s proprietary technology and certified team of analysts apply standardized discovery and analysis processes to each claimant. This results in a complete, cost-effective solution to investigating large classes. Contact SMI Aware today to start your large or small class action investigations.
