General Motors Sued Over Deaths Linked To Faulty Ignition Switches

By Rajkamal

Published: Thursday, July 31, 2014, 13:05 [IST]

General motors was sued on Tuesday with regard to more than 650 deaths and injuries involving cars made by GM due to a faulty ignition switch.

The faulty ignition switches that would jump out of position while the car was moving resulted in serious accidents. This is due to the fact that the power brakes would stop working and the airbags would not deploy, leading to many fatal accidents.

Also Read: US Worried About Cars Being Recalled

The case was filed at a federal court in Manhattan where there were numerous cases against GM was filed. They so far have a total of more than 600 plaintiffs, which include 29 who are bringing claims on behalf of people who have been killed.

GM had recalled nearly 15 million vehicles worldwide since the beginning of this year. Lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who heads the program for GM to compensate victims of crashes, involves nearly 2.6 million cars, mostly Cobalts.

The lawsuit covers the claims of those who were not eligible for the program, according to the lawyer who filed the suit, Robert Hilliard. These will include accidents involving cars not just among the 2.6 million initially recalled for the switch issues but also accidents in which the car's airbags deployed, which were previously considered ineligible for the program.

Jim Cain, a spokesman for GM denied any specific comments but said GM's goal was to treat people fairly and with compassion throughout the process.

Under GM's protocol, Feinberg released for the program, claims involving hospital stays of one night would receive a compensation of USD 20,000.

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