Plaintiff Megan H. and her family have filed a lawsuit in Ohio federal court against General Motors, LLC.

According to the GM ignition lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleges that while Megan was driving her 2004 Cadillac CTS on Sept. 5, 2015, she lost control of the vehicle and veered off the road. She was driving on State Road 122 in Preble Country, Ohio.

When she lost control of the vehicle, she slammed into an embankment, rolled over twice and finally stopped. However, her body was ejected violently from her Cadillac CTS, the complaint states.

According to the GM ignition lawsuit, Megan was taken to Miami Valley Hospital nearby and was diagnosed with serious body injuries, including a pelvic and wrist fracture, and suffered from lacerations along her right leg.

The GM ignition lawsuit further purports that she suffered from a traumatic brain injury and “had ‘significant and debilitating’ cognitive deficits and was non-verbal.”

According to the GM ignition lawsuit, she then spent the next several months in an extended care facility. She was treated by a team of medical professionals, including physical therapists and neurosurgeons that can help provide her the best care treatment possible.

However, according to the GM ignition lawsuit, “Megan’s condition has only nominally improved as she continues to need round the clock care given her chronic psychological, behavioral, and cognitive deficits resulting from the crash.”

“The severity of Megan’s injuries have forced her children into the care of loved ones as the struggles to remember their names, and at times even who they are.”

This action is brought on Megan’s behalf by her mother and sister, both of whom are now Megan’s legal guardians.

GM Ignition Lawsuit Facts

According to the GM ignition lawsuit, GM had installed Megan’s vehicle with a faulty ignition switch that allegedly causes the engine to shut off while the vehicle is in motion.

The GM ignition lawsuit iterates that the result of the ignition switch defects results in a sudden and complete loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking. Additionally, this defect causes an increased risk of vehicle accidents and may also result in airbags not deploying and passenger seat injuries.

According to the GM ignition lawsuit, when Megan lost control of her vehicle, as she slammed into an embankment, and when she then rolled over at least twice in her vehicle, the airbags never deployed.

GM allegedly knew of this product defect at least as early as 2006, according to the plaintiffs. It was then that the vehicles’ drivers had reported a problem. Moreover, allegations against GM further purport that instead of notifying its customers of the ignition switch defect, they continued to rather order different ignition switches for their future models.

After allegedly being faced with multiple encounters with the ignition switch defect, it was not until April 2014 that GM decided to inform the federal government about this problem.

Although a recall was announced in July 2014, Megan was never informed of the issue until after her crash in September 2015, according to the plaintiffs.

The GM Ignition Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-00579-TSB in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division at Dayton.