General Motors Company (GM) Faces Ignition Switches Lawsuit Even After Constituting a Fund

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) constituted a fund that will pay for the victims who were killed or injured due to its defective ignition switches. Not all victims, though, are happy from the fund as they have launched a class action lawsuit against General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), over those faulty ignition switches. Steve Berman, Managing Partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, who will be the co-lead counsel in the case discussed about it on Bloomberg, recently.

“[…] I don’t think General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is doing all it could. The first 2.1 million ignition switch recall cars are in the fund, So if you got one of those cars and if you have been injured, you can make a claim. But, if you are one in 10 million other ignition switch recall victims and you have been injured, they are not paying those people, nor are they paying anyone else injured by the 15 or 20 million other cars that have been recalled,” Berman said.

Berman mentions that General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) hasn’t come out with a specific answer to why it is only paying injured victims of the first 2.1 million cars that were recalled, and not other injured victims whose cars were recalled later. Berman also clarified that he is representing both kinds of victims, those who suffered injury or died due to the issue, and also those who claim to have suffered economic value loss due to the ignition switch problems. Though he was quick to point out that cases for injured victims will be heard on an individual basis while cases of victims claiming economic value loss will be heard on a class action basis.

“The case would be on behalf of both, if you have suffered a personal injury you have a choice of going to the fund or not and if you are not covered by the fund, you will be covered by the case, and if you are ineligible for the fund you will also be covered by the case […] It’s my understanding that if you are taking money from the fund you are releasing any further liability claim […],” Berman added.

Disclosure: None