Karina Basso  |  May 28, 2015

Category: Consumer News

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GM ignition switch recall class action lawsuitGeneral Motors LLC is being sued in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a 17-year-old boy who allegedly died because of the GM ignition switch failure.

This case is part of the larger GM ignition switch multidistrict litigation over the alleged ignition switch failure found in numerous GM models and vehicles, which is also the subject a nationwide GM recall.

GM Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Plaintiffs Tracy and Denise T. have filed this GM ignition switch failure lawsuit alleging that their son Tucker was killed in an August 2010 vehicular accident. According to their wrongful death lawsuit, the GM ignition switch failure caused his ignition switch to go from on, or accessory mode, to off, causing him to lose control of the car and crash into a tree. Because the car was turned off by the defect, the airbags in his 2002 Pontiac Grand Am did not deploy.

According to the GM ignitions switch wrongful death lawsuit: “Tanner’s parents, Plaintiffs Tracy and Denise, and his three siblings were devastated by the mysterious accident and no investigating entity could point to what caused Tanner’s vehicle to suddenly lose control and careen off the road. More than four years later that answer came, when the Tuckers received an ignition switch recall notice in the mail, alerting them to the deadly defect.”

Ignition Switch Recall Background

Although the ignition switch defect allegedly originated with “Old GM” (General Motors before their historic 2009 bankruptcy and buy out), the plaintiffs’ wrongful death lawsuit alleges that “New GM” engaged in “egregious concealment of the defective ignition switch that ultimately caused Tanner’s death.”

The 2002 Pontiac Grand Am that Tanner drove when he died was recalled in 2014, along with numerous other GM makes and models, because of the deadly ignition switch defect. The GM ignition switch lawsuit claims that the ignition switch in GM cars like Tanner’s 2002 Pontiac Grand Am can move to “off” or “accessory” from the on position for a number of reasons, including jarring while driving on a bumpy roadway, a heavy key chain, or an accidental bump of the key by the drivers knee.

Additionally, “when the ignition switch fails, the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly loses engine power, power steering, and power brakes, and certain safety features are disabled, including the vehicle’s airbags. This leaves occupants vulnerable to crashes, serious injuries, and death,” they allege in their GM lawsuit.

This GM ignition switch lawsuit brings several claims against General Motors, including first and foremost wrongful death of a child, strict liability, failure to warn, defective design, and fraud by non-disclosure. Tracy and Denise are seeking compensatory and other types of damages, payment of attorney’s fees, court costs, and other forms of relief deemed fit by the court.

This GM Wrongful Death Lawsuit is part of the GM Recall MDL, MDL No. 14-MD-2543 (JMF), in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The GM recall attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or GM class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, GM ignition switch lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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