According to a recent Bloomberg article, 125 deaths have been reported to General Motors Co. as a result of defective ignition switches in cars made by the company.
At the center of the issue are millions of small-model Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn cars which were the subject of a recall in February. In these automobiles, a defect could cause the ignition to shut off due to force exerted by heavy key chains or by a jolt which may be the result of a collision. This sudden loss of power can cause a loss of driver control, and it could also prevent airbag deployment.
According to investigations launched after the recall, GM officials were aware of the potential defect in the ignition switches of these cars but failed to warn consumers or fix the problem. Likewise, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee recently criticized the NHTSA, stating that the agency had multiple opportunities to identify this problem and even issue a recall for these vehicles as early as 2007. According to the congressional report, a state trooper reported that the airbags in these vehicles failed to deploy after ignition switches shut off and three independent investigations into this issue should also have prompted the NHTSA to act.
In the report, lawmakers state, “The agency’s repeated failure to identify, let alone explore, the potential defect theory related to the ignition switch — even after it was spelled out in a report the agency commissioned — is inexcusable. This was compounded by NHTSA staff’s lack of knowledge and awareness regarding the evolution of vehicle safety systems they regulate. Regulators should not be held to a different standard.” The congressional investigators found that the NHTSA has received more than 2,000 reports of ignition switch malfunctions in GM vehicles, yet they failed to act on these reports.
To date, General Motors has publicly attributed at least 19 deaths to the faulty ignition switches. More than 445 claims have been submitted to the automaker by injured parties and families seeking damages from the ignition switch settlement fund established early in 2014. According to Kenneth Feinberg, the GM lawyer charged with managing the fund, the company has set aside $400 to $600 million to compensate affected drivers and passengers. Claims will be accepted through December of this year.
In June, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) was established to coordinate all GM ignition switch lawsuits filed in federal courts. These cases will be brought before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York. To learn more about plaintiffs’ rights in GM ignition switch lawsuits, contact the national injury lawyers of Flood Law Group today.
