Lawyers Reject 91% of Wrongful Death and Injury Claims for GM Compensation Fund

In previous blog posts, we’ve spoken about how manufacturers are obligated to compensate injured parties for foreseeable injuries due to defective products. General Motors serves as a prime example.

Last year, General Motors had issued a recall for 2.6 million cars made with faulty ignition switches and made a compensation fund available to victims of accidents and deaths caused by the defect. Apparently the ignition switches could slip out of the run position, causing the cars to unexpectedly stall and the air bags, power steering and brakes to be disabled. GM set aside $625 million to compensate victims and their families.

Of the 4,343 claims submitted, lawyers for the compensation fund approved a mere 399 of the claims filed and rejected 3,944 – or 91% of the claims submitted. This is because the majority of the claims submitted failed to establish a link between the accident and the faulty ignition switch, according to Camille Biros, deputy administrator of the fund. For example, claims were submitted for cars that weren’t even part of the recall. In other cases, the air bags inflated in the crash, which would mean that the ignition switches were not to be blamed.

The fund made offers in 124 death cases and 275 injury crashes. Of those, 325 were accepted, eight were rejected, and 65 haven’t decided. Families of those who have died as a result of the ignition switch will get at least $1 million.

One of the basic tenets of tort law is that all injured parties must prove negligence, causality and an injury. If even one of these elements is missing, a claim for damages cannot be established. Often, one of the hardest elements to prove is the causal link between the negligence of the at-fault party (in this case, the manufacturer), and the injury suffered. The great majority of the claims filed against GM lost because they could not prove that the fault of the manufacturer in creating a problematic ignition switch was related to any injury or accident that occurred.

If you are considering filing a lawsuit for wrongful death or accident, especially due to a faulty auto part, speak to a lawyer to understand your rights by booking a free consultation or calling 1-855-446-7765 for immediate assistance. You will also find some helpful information in our accident lawyer section.