An Illinois man has filed a GM ignition switch lawsuit against General Motors, claiming that the ignition switch in his Chevy Impala turned off without warning and caused an accident.

Plaintiff Christopher D., of Pekin, Ill., alleges he was driving his 2002 Chevrolet Impala on KY 80 going west in February of 2016. According to his GM ignition switch lawsuit, Christopher attempted to avoid colliding into another car on the roadway. When he made this attempt, he claims, his Chevy Impala lost power and as a result, Christopher could not keep his car on the road.

When his car left the highway, it hit a nearby ditch and turned over multiple times, according to his GM ignition switch lawsuit. At this point, it came to rest in a field.

In his GM ignition switch lawsuit, Christopher claims that his airbag, brakes and power steering system failed to deploy as a result of the ignition switch defect.

This GM ignition switch lawsuit claims that “at any given moment, an ignition switch in a variety of Old and New GM vehicles could fail, killing or maiming the driver, passengers, other motorists, or innocent bystanders.”

This can be triggered by a key chain hanging from the ignition switch or by a bump in the road. The car’s ignition switches from the “run” position to the “off” position without the driver knowing.

Allegedly, General Motors did not communicate honestly about the defective nature of the GM ignition switch  for four and a half years. GM knew about dangers in their vehicles that could potentially be life-threatening, this lawsuit claims, thirteen years ago.

The company admits that there has been at least one death in each of those years, but some reports claim that there have been many more. Certain GM vehicles have a higher ignition switch failure rate than others, the lawsuit claims.

Christopher’s GM ignition switch lawsuit gives multiple examples of individuals in GM vehicles who have gotten in accidents as a result of an ignition switch turning off without warning. Many of these drivers and passengers have become injured allegedly because their airbags have not deployed or their power steering has stopped working. Reports regarding the Chevrolet Cobalt and the Saturn Ion show that 303 deaths have occurred as a result of the airbag failing to deploy.

As far back as 2001, GM allegedly knew that their ignitions could pose a problem with drivers, alleges the lawsuit. Additionally, it was determined in 2005 that the cost involved to change the key in GM cars in order to fix the perceived problem would be less than one dollar per vehicle. However, GM took no action. A series of recalls begin in 2014 but it was too late for many drivers and passengers.

Christopher’s GM ignition switch lawsuit claims negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, fraud and strict liability.

This GM Ignition Switch Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-01007 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.