Lawyers representing plaintiffs with cases against General Motors for its delayed recall of millions of small cars with faulty ignition switches say they have begun to sift through the 320-page report on the matter and are finding details which support their claims, Automotive News reports.
Since announcing the recall in February, GM has had numerous lawsuits filed against it by lawyers of those who have been injured or killed in crashes by affected vehicles. More than 70 lawsuits have also been filed against the company by individuals who claim the recall forced their car to lose value.
The recall report, which is the result of a lengthy internal probe on the company led by former US attorney Anton Valukas, revealed a flawed company culture within GM. In her remarks during the announcement of the report’s findings, CEO Mary Barra said there was “no conspiracy by the corporation to cover up the facts.”
Plaintiff’s lawyers said their initial reviews of the report revealed dozens of individuals, including engineers and lawyers, who failed to act on their knowledge of the faulty ignition switches. This may be a basis for proving the company’s negligence, which will be deciding factor in the lawsuits
GM is facing ongoing probes from the U.S. Department of Justice and state prosecutors, as well as regulators and members of Congress. AN says investigators representing these organizations will most likely not rely on the information presented in the Valukas Report, which was paid for and commissioned by GM.
Comment
This should be simple. You have someone who died with out any mitigating circumstances you get a settlement. You are injured with out mitigating circumstances you get a settlement.
If the driver of the car was impaired or any of the victims were unbelted it should affect the settlement or negate depending on the circumstances.
The fact is if you study many of these claims the driver and others would still be alive if it were not for their actions. Some who died would have died anyways key on or off under the circumstanced they crashed in.
I begrudge no legitimate claims and innocent victims but I see no reason for some of these cases to get much if anything.
Time to stop rewarding poor behavior on the corporation side as well as the consumer side.
Time for Tort Reform in this country as many of these cases that will be filed will be done so just to see if they can get a settlement to go away as the cost to fight it even if it is not a legitimate case would be more than what GM would pay out in a settlement.
Many want to hate large companies but even the good companies are often ham strung with bad law suits and in the end the so called victim gets a small percentage as the lawyer walks away with the majority. Then we all pay for it in the long run with higher prices.