If you or a loved one has been harmed in a crash in a recalled GM motor vehicle like Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Pontiac, and Saturn, you may be entitled to compensation. A part in these recalled vehicle’s ignition switches causes their engines to abruptly cut off without warning, lose power steering, or lose braking during operation. This leaves the driver suddenly stranded in a travel lane. GM knew of the defect as far back as 2001. In 2005, GM rejected a proposal to fix the problem because it would be too costly. After a Maryland resident died in her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt because of this defect, GM did not issue a recall. Nor did GM issue a recall in 2007 when an investigation linked the defect to a death in Wisconsin. In 2012, GM identified four more fatalities from crashes attributable to the defect. By the end of 2013, GM determined that the faulty ignition switch is to blame for at least 31 crashes and 13 deaths. Finally, in February of 2014, GM issued an official recall of more than 2.5 million vehicles in the United States. These recalls include the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles. GM was criminally fined a record $1.2 Billion for its delay in acting, and for covering up the defect, and a civil fine of a record $35 Million.
GM Ignition-Switch Defect Compensation
