Despite the amount of concern and drama surrounding the recent GM recall, legal experts still remained concerned for the affected consumers. Over the past eight months, over two million GM cars have been recalled due to a fatal ignition switch defect, yet less than half of the vehicles still remain unfixed.

Even with the GM recall letters stating that fatalities have occurred from this ignition switch defect, only about 1.16 million affected vehicles have been fixed out of 2.36 million. The letter very clearly described how the ignition would suddenly switch off if a certain amount of weight were to be attached to the key, which would suddenly turn off the engine and the car’s safety features, including the airbag. Many of these affected vehicles remain on the road, putting the driver and other surrounding motorists in danger of a possible collision.

Initially, it had been due to lack of parts that the owners were unable to have their automobile repaired, but now many believe that consumers either do not care or are entirely unaware of the GM ignition switch recall to begin with. As a result, General Motors has been forced to resort to other measures when normally a recall notification letter would have done the job.

The company has undergone various efforts to get their GM ignition switch recall warning out to the public including through social media channels like Facebook, personalized phone calls to the car owners, and personal letters from GM CEO Marry Barra that urge car owners to have their ignition switches replaced. Barra recalls several cases where she and other GM representatives have gone to some of the homes of these customers and had to warn them in person; if they agreed to have the switch fixed, they were given a loaner car while their vehicle was being repaired.

Even though the GM ignition switch defect is particularly serious, many federal safety regulators state that it is not unusual for customers to ignore a recall letter. In fact, the average completion rate of resolving a recall complication on a personalized automobile is only 75% after one year, with the completion rate decreasing rapidly after one year. Additionally, it is said that one third of these car owners who have not made the repairs have children, and one fifth are young people yet to start a family.

Federal regulators and GM explain that the people who do not have their cars fixed after receiving a recall letter often have not seen any symptoms of the problem or experienced any incidents that is described in the letter. This ultimately leads to a complacent disposition due to their assumption that they are not being affected by the complication. GM is trying to fight the dismissive attitude to protect their customers, having their lawyers announce that the number of deaths officially linked to the ignition defect  is 24, and will likely rise.

Overview of the GM Recall

The GM ignition switch recall was first announced in February and March of this year, which was reportedly a decade after the ignition defect was discovered. The late response initiated a federal investigation and a class action lawsuit against the company, with plaintiffs accusing the automaker of failing to warn them about the ignition defect.

Additionally, plaintiffs are also accusing the company of knowingly marketing dangerous vehicles to them, which ultimately placed them at risk. While GM representatives have officially recognized two dozen deaths, the Center for Auto Safety believes there could be as many as 300.

Legal experts encourage people who suffered bodily injury or were hospitalized from the ignition switch to seek legal action in order to be compensated for their injuries.