GM faces an airbag lawsuit after a consumer was in an accident where the airbags didn’t deploy.

Plaintiff Larry H. filed a lawsuit against General Motors (GM) following his auto accident. He alleges his ignition switch failed and the airbags didn’t deploy in his Chevrolet Cobalt.

In December 2011, Larry says he was driving his 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt in Alabama when his ignition switch turned to the off position because it was unable to hold the run position.

Due to this ignition switch defect, Larry claims, he was involved in a frontal crash on the highway. Despite the force of the crash, the airbags didn’t deploy upon impact. This resulted in serious injury to Larry including a spinal fracture, according to his GM lawsuit.

The Chevrolet Cobalt has allegedly been the subject of many similar events since 2005. Between the years of 2005 and 2011, Chevrolet Cobalt models were allegedly involved in at least 20 accidents where the airbags didn’t deploy. Some of these accidents were blamed on a similar ignition defect as experienced by Larry in his 2011 accident. All of the accidents resulted in serious injury, with a handful of the accidents resulting in death.

At the time of each of these accidents, GM allegedly further investigated the cause of the accidents and the defects in the ignition switches and airbags in the models. Despite a large number of incidents, GM did not recall their Cobalt and G5 vehicles until February 2014. This initial recall included 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 vehicles. The recall was later expanded to include 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, and 2007 Saturn Sky.

The ignition switch defect causes the vehicle engines to turn off when the ignition switches off unexpectedly. The ignition switch defect could be caused by merely bumping the keys or having a heavy keychain on the key.

GM has acknowledged that the ignition switch defect has been implicated in at least 13 deaths and over 50 accidents, but the Center for Auto Safety estimated that there have been 303 deaths associated with the Saturn Ion and Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles alone, according to Larry’s GM lawsuit.

When the ignition switch fails, it can shut down the vehicle’s power-dependent safety features, including the airbags. The airbags may then fail to deploy in an accident. This failure has been reported by many consumers in accidents where the airbags didn’t deploy. Larry’s vehicle allegedly experienced both defects which contributed to his serious injuries.

Larry claims that GM purposefully concealed the defects in their vehicles and failed to recall the vehicles in a timely fashion, which caused him to assume his vehicle was safe. He claims that had he known his vehicle was unsafe, he would not have driven it and would have avoided his tragic accident.

“[Larry] would further show that the clear and convincing evidence in this case will show that New GM consciously or deliberately engaged in oppression, fraud, wantonness, and/or malice in concealing the defect in the affected vehicles and failing to recall the vehicle in a timely manner,” accuses the lawsuit.

Larry accuses GM of strict liability, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and breach of implied warranty. He seeks a trial by jury, damages, medical costs, and loss of income.

The GM Ignition Airbag Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-01627 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.