General Motors this month announced it had spent nearly $2 billion on recalls and victim compensation in 2014.

GM was at the heart of a massive storm of GM recalls over alleged GM ignition switch defects. A number of widely-sold GM vehicles had a GM ignition switch defect in the circuitry that operates the vehicles.

In these vehicles, GM ignition switch circuitry could spontaneously move from the driving position to a standby, or auxiliary mode. In standby and auxiliary mode, a vehicle’s engine cuts off and several important safety features like airbags deactivate.

Allegedly, the GM ignition switch recall has included several vehicles linked to deaths. Modern vehicles contain extensive systems of on-board electronics, which can act as a sort of “black box” during a crash.

Several fatal accidents involving vehicles later recalled by GM recorded that the cars in question switched from drive into standby mode seconds before fatal accidents. Officially, GM itself has been linked to 42 deaths related to GM ignition switch defects. Independently, Reuters has cited as many as 153 deaths.

In 2014, GM issued a GM ignition switch recall for millions of GM vehicles. The initial GM ignition switch recall of around 800,000 vehicles came in February, followed by expanded recalls of up to nearly 28 million cars for a total of 45 recalls. GM also faces GM ignition switch lawsuits over allegations that General Motors did not act quickly.

An internal investigation, with independent investigators hired from outside of General Motors, found that key individuals in the company knew for about a decade before the first of the recalls, but a “widespread culture of incompetence” interfered with corrective action. Thousands of GM lawsuits have been filed over the GM ignition switch defect, alleging that GM is responsible for crashes, serious injury and death.

In light of this, GM stated in early 2015 that the company had spent between $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion on the series of recalls and compensating victims of accidents allegedly related to the GM ignition switch defect. Additionally, GM has anticipated that as much as $1.2 billion could be spent through 2015 to continue to deal with the problem.

The GM Ignition Switch MDL is In Re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, Case No. 1:14-mc-02543, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.