GM Ignition Switch Recall Target of New Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

The GM ignition switch defect has no doubt been a controversial issue attracting a great deal of public attention. Its troubles have led to a major GM ignition switch recall, numerous federal investigations, and a downpour of negative exposure for the automaker.

GM Ignition Switch Recall

General Motors reportedly installed faulty ignition switches in certain car models over the last decade. The defect came to light as owners began to complain of their car engines shutting off while driving. Reports of injuries and accidents increased until GM was forced to take action.

In February 2014, General Motors recalled 1.6 million vehicles between Feb. 25 and April 9, 2014 because of the ignition switch defect that has been linked to the deaths of at least 120 people.  It later revised the GM ignition switch recall totals to 2.36 million globally, with 1.96 million stateside.

The GM ignition switch recall includes the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles.

Specifically, the GM ignition switch recall targeted a flaw that allowed an ignition switch to move out of the “run” position — and was found to cause air bags to fail to deploy during a crash.

Further controversy surrounds what General Motors knew about the ignition switch defect and when it knew it.

After an internal investigation showed GM ignored the problem for over a decade and possibly as early as 2001 but chose not to fix the problem, the automaker fired 15 employees.

In fact, it has been reported that GM could have fixed the defective ignition switch for as little as 57 cents per vehicle and the automaker was eventually fined $35 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

GM Still Faces Litigation

As part of the GM ignition switch recall, the company established an uncapped settlement fund, expecting settlements to reach $400-600 million. In the final report, the GM Ignition Compensation Claims fund reported it had reviewed 4,343 claims.

The claims that were eligible for compensation involved injury or death, and those who accepted payments waived the right to to sue GM or seek additional damages.

The automaker, however, is still facing hundreds of lawsuits associated with the GM ignition switch recall. Many of these lawsuits filed against General Motors throughout the federal court system have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, as part of a Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL.

The cases are centralized before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman to reduce duplicative discovery into common issues, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings and to serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the courts.

Both MDLs and class action lawsuits are designed to help streamline the legal system by combining tens, hundreds, or even thousands, of individual lawsuits into a single coordinated legal action.

Bellwether trials are currently underway.

In addition to the GM MDL, individual lawsuits are being filed against General Motors from victims who have decided not to take part in the settlement fund.

Filing a GM Ignition Switch Recall Lawsuit

General Motors knew about their ignition problems in 2001, but they hid this information from the public. Over 120 deaths and many more injuries have been blamed on the deadly GM ignition switch, according to a Department of Justice investigation. General Motors has agreed to pay $575 million to 1,380 victims in a civil case.

Millions of GM cars have been recalled, and you may be eligible for compensation if you you experienced any if the following GM ignition switch defects:

• Airbags will not deploy after frontal collision
• Sudden inability to steer your car while driving
• Engine can suddenly shutoff while driving
• Power brakes may suddenly stop working while driving

A qualified attorney can review your case at no cost and there is no obligation to file a lawsuit.