According to Automotive News, General Motors is currently under fire for injuries and fatalities resulting from faulty ignition switches. To be exact, 84 deaths and 157 injuries have occurred – 11 of them serious and 146 less so but still required medical attention.
However, General Motors will not face the plethora of lawsuits accusing them of concealing a defect within their ignition switches in the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn ION, Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Pursuit, Pontiac Solstice, and the Saturn Sky. Specifically, the defect lies between the ignition switch, ignition lock cylinder, and the key to crank the vehicle.
The defect involves a tiny pin or a detent plunger, which normally serves to hold the ignition in the “run” position. Plaintiffs in accordance to the lawsuit argue GM violated their constitutional rights by failing to inform car owners of the problem. GM countered the argument saying the defect was protected from claims on the aforementioned vehicles before their 2009 exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. To put it all into perspective, GM has recalled 27 million vehicles within the last year alone.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber made the decision that GM may avoid the potential billions of dollars from lawsuits because the “Old GM” is laden with bad assets that were shed in the bankruptcy, and any plaintiff seeking financial liability would have to sue the shell company. However, Judge Gerber stated that economic-loss plaintiffs can use the “New GM” as a target for claims based on post-bankruptcy conduct by GM.
The 2009 bankruptcy basically split the company between Old GM and New GM, and while Old GM retained many of the liabilities, New GM purchased the profitable business operations. Plaintiffs claim that GM should have known they would have these legal claims when they filed for bankruptcy, hoping to gain leverage on their lawsuits.
With such a serious recall occurring with these ignition switches, GM needs to take responsibility, which they are paying at least $1 million for each justified death claim. In addition, the victims and victim’s families forfeit the right to sue GM.
Recalled in 2.6 million and counting vehicles, GM was aware of the problem for nearly a decade before announcing the recall in the early months of 2014. With over 4,000 claims submitted before the January 31, 2015 deadline, GM has much to sort out to regain consumer confidence.
What are your thoughts on this deadly recall? Would you settle on a payout for the loss of a loved one or would you continue to sue? Do you own one of the aforementioned vehicles? Feel free to leave your opinion on the lawsuit below.