$120 Million Settlement in Lawsuit over GM Ignition-Switch Case

Gm ignition switch

USA- Caranddriver.com writes that a class-action lawsuit was filed in response to faulty switches in GM vehicles. The owners of the impacted cars stated that they lost value because of the defect.

GM previously issued a recall of over 2.6 million vehicles related to the switch. The issue led to 124 deaths resulting from the cars unexpectedly stalling. The deadly vehicle design-flaw also allegedly led to financial losses for owners of the affected vehicles. The company reached the settlement earlier this week.

GM reportedly admitted that their ignition switches could stall, causing every safety feature to become disabled, including vital features such as the airbags. There are 216 named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including individuals party to a separate recall in 2014 related to steering wheel flaws and defective side-airbags that would not inflate in a collision. The lawsuit only involves economic losses such as those affiliated with the resale of the cars, repairs, and other economic issues.

A separate lawsuit was related to the same vehicles, which included models manufactured between 2004 and 2014. A $625 million settlement fund applied to the 124 fatalities and 275 injuries resulting from the defective automobiles.

In 2015, a $275 million settlement was entered in relation to another 1,380 plus injury and death claims that were kept separate from the compensation fund.

Owners will learn what they are entitled to after the court approves the settlement.

GM was found to have covered up the issue for thirteen years. A law firm exposed the company’s actions by showing that GM redesigned the defective piece without making changes to the part number. Additional lawsuits may still follow against the carmaker.