General Motors has some explaining to do. The lawyer of a woman who was killed in a crash in her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt in 2010 has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require General Motors to explain why it only now recalled 619,122 U.S.-market Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 vehicles to replace faulty ignition switches.
According to USA Today, documents from a now-settled civil lawsuit reveal GM knew about the faulty ignition switches since 2004, before it launched the Cobalt or G5. Federal safety rules require automakers to notify the National Highway Traffic Administration within five business days if a problem is discovered with a vehicle.
“Testimony of GM engineers and documents produced in Melton v. General Motors et. al., show that the automaker actually knew about the defective ignition switch in these vehicles in 2004 before it began selling (the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt)”, reads the letter to the NHTSA from Lance Cooper, the plaintiff’s lawyer.
Cooper represents Brooke Melton of Hiram, GA., the woman who died in an accident in her 2005 Cobalt. Data pulled from the vehicle’s black box shows the ignition switch was in the “accessory” position at the time of the accident and not the “run” position, causing the loss of power steering and airbags to be disabled.
In the past, GM has argued that a car can still be steered and stopped safely without power assist to the steering wheel or brakes.
The NHTSA isn’t required to do as Cooper asks and has yet to respond to the request.
Comments
What’s new,when it comes to losing big money corporations will do anything to pay later. Do we only think Toyota is dishonest i.e. in regard to its floor mat scam,or other automakers are dishonest in regard to fuel economy numbers. In this business world profit comes first and always will.
It is not so much dishonest but the fact too often it is the path of the least damage.
Too often if you admit to a issue then it opens you up to a much larger issue of law suits vs. if you just take what come. Too often the legal system will damage a company in the media and financially if they admit anything. So most companies find it cheaper to just deal with issues when they arise and pay out to those who will not speak of it after the fact.
Our legal system needs a lot of reform as the class action suits and the other suits that often are take on for many as you only pay if we get a settlement has brought a lot of cases that should not be even close to court.
Not in all but in many cases companies have to lie to protect themselves because of the laws.
We are in great need of tort reform.
This case also came in back at a time GM could not afford to pay attention so times like that often bring moves of desperation too.
The fact is there is unfairness and lies on both sides of many of these cases. The common denominator is Lawyers.