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History of Accidents Related to Recalled GM Vehicles

After more than a decade of knowledge regarding a dangerous defect in 1.6 million vehicles, General Motors announced in February, 2014, that it would be recalling those vehicles affected. However, within those ten years, there have been thousands of accidents involving these vehicles, some of which related to a faulty ignition switch, which could stall the vehicle and disable the airbags.

Class action lawsuit

A proposed class action lawsuit filed in Texas in March, 2014 relates to the recalled vehicles. It was filed by those who currently own the vehicles. This proposed suit claims that General Motors created “unreasonably dangerous” conditions for consumers of the affected vehicles.

However, some consumers have already been involved in accidents related to the issue, which GM had known about since 2004. Those consumers could be entitled to a settlement of a different kind.

String of fatal accidents

On March 2, 2014, The New York Times reported about the string of fatal accidents that GM now admits were linked to the faulty ignition switch. In the article, The NY Times reports that these accidents are part of a “…decade-long failure by GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) to address a problem that engineers and regulators had been alerted to years ago.” [Read the full article here.]

According to The NY Times, the N.H.T.S.A. met with GM regarding two fatal accidents involving the Chevrolet Cobalt. During these meetings, questions were raised regarding a possible defect, but a broader investigation was not opened. The Cobalt models are part of the February, 2014 recall, as GM now says these vehicles had a faulty ignition switch, which could be a contributing factor to serious accidents. [Click here for a complete list of the recalled vehicles.]

The family of one of the 13 victims killed in an accident related to these faulty switches sued General Motors and reached an out-of-court settlement.

While GM says it knows of 13 fatal accidents involving its faulty vehicles, an independent consumer advocacy group performed its own research and says it believes more than 300 fatal accidents can be linked to the problem.

Know your rights

If you or a loved one was seriously injured in an accident involving one of the recalled vehicles, you might have a case against General Motors. For a free consultation, please click here fill out a case evaluation form, or call 877-379-2798. If we take you as a client, you will owe no fee until we get money for you.