General Motors Responsible for 90 Deaths, 163 Injuries Caused By Faulty Ignition Switch
General Motors is now responsible for 90 deaths linked to a faulty ignition switch that can inadvertently shut off the engine and disable power steering and air bags. That number is up from 87 last week. The confirmed number of injuries totals 163.
Families will still receive compensation from the manufacturer, even though a federal bankruptcy judge had blocked most lawsuits related to the faulty ignition switch. The ruling was made April 15 of this year, and spared General Motors an estimated $7 billion to $10 billion in economic loss claims.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, General Motors has had to recall a staggering 30 million cars total, 2.6 million of which were related to the faulty ignition switch, costing the company $2.8 billion. The company has overhauled its safety practices in response.
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg was hired by General Motors to sort through over 4,300 claims, and to compensate families effected by the error, according to the Morning Sun. Victims had until January 31 of this year to file a claim.
Feinberg said over half the claims were ineligible or deficient, and 23 percent of the cases still needed to be reviewed. Of the offers made to victims, 113 have been accepted and five rejected. The amounts of the claims have not been made public.
Last year, General Motors delayed the recall of 2.6 million vehicles from 20 different models, according to Fox Business. The company reportedly knew about the faulty ignition switches in the Chevrolet Cobalt and other small vehicles for over a decade but didn’t start the recall until last year.
In court on April 15, Judge Robert E. Gerber determined General Motors would not have to face dozens of lawsuits, claiming the company concealed the faulty ignition switches and failed to recall cars in a timely manner. The courts ruled that the liability shield in the 2009 agreement that allowed General Motors to lift itself out of bankruptcy prevented claims tied to accidents prior to 2009 caused by the faulty ignition switch.
Victims of accidents that occurred prior to 2009 will have to file against a financially-strapped “Old GM,” a shell company comprised of bad assets GM dropped during bankruptcy. Accidents after 2009 can still proceed against the present General Motors corporation.
The corporation posted its best quarter since filing for bankruptcy in 2009, but still fell short of analysts’ expectations, earning well below the expected $0.97 per share, according to CNBC.com. General Motors posted $0.86 per share, a decline caused in part by the decision to end manufacturing in Russia due to a fall in demand and the country’s imploding economy.
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