Examining the 13 deaths linked to GM defect

The New York Times reports in a front-page story on the 13 deaths “General Motors has linked to an ignition switch defect that can cause a loss of power in cars,” noting that GM “has refused to disclose the names of the victims or details of the accidents – even to some survivors of the crashes and relatives of the dead.” According to an investigation by the Times, “12 victims died in 10 separate accidents in nine states and Canada, the earliest on July 4, 2004, the latest less than a year ago, on June 22, 2013.” Victims “ranged in age from a 13-year-old to an 81-year-old.” The Times notes that it “identified the 12 victims by following the criteria G.M. has indicated in public statements and documents and by conferring with various people who have knowledge of the list, including safety regulators in the United States and Canada as well as elected officials.”

GM raises number of crashes linked to ignition switches to 47

Bloomberg News reports that General Motors has revised its estimate of the number of car crashes connected “to small cars with defective ignition switches,” counting 47 cases, although still clarifying that the number of fatalities still stands at 13. The article notes that GM was commenting on a statement released before the weekend by acting NHTSA Administrator David Friedman in which Friedman said, “The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to NHTSA, but we believe it’s likely that more than 13 lives were lost.”

CNN’s Money reported from its website, the old number of crashes connected to the ignition problem was 32. Also, GM calculates that fixing all the vehicles it has recalled, so far, in 2014 would cost $1.7 billion. In other words, the costs of fixing GM’s recall problems “essentially erased the profit the company would have reported in the first quarter.”

NHTSA documents show GM attorneys advised engineers to “couch their reports in jargon.” The website Automotive News reported on an NHTSA-released document from May 16 that “showed that engineers” at GM “were encouraged to couch their reports in jargon,” with the company’s lawyers claiming that it would be better “to write ‘issue’ instead of ‘problem,’ and ‘does not perform to design’ instead of ‘defect.’”

NHTSA comments on death toll related to GM vehicle defects

The New York Times reports that acting NHTSA Administrator David Friedman stated, “The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to N.H.T.S.A., but we believe it’s likely that more than 13 lives were lost,” although Friedman noted that that number would probably go up as GM works through various lawsuits and consumer complaints. Friedman further commented in a statement, “G.M. would be in the position to determine additional cases related directly to this defect based on lawsuits, incident claims and additional data reported directly to the automaker from its customers, dealerships, insurance companies, safety groups and other sources.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that NHTSA is putting the onus of calculating the death toll on GM, although plaintiffs in wrongful deaths claims against GM are saying that the death toll is greater than 13.

Reuters reports that GM spokesperson Jim Cain responded to NHTSA’s statement by commenting, “To the best of our knowledge, there have been 13 fatalities that may be related to the ignition switch defect.” Cain added, “That’s after a thorough analysis of the information available to us. If we come across new information, of course, we will share it with the agency. We’re totally focused on fixing all of the cars as quickly as we can.”

Barclays analyst: GM recalls may continue into summer

CBS News reports from its website that Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said that GM “recall announcements may continue through mid-summer” after a meeting Johnson had with GM Executive Vice President Mark Reuss and Executive VP and CFO Chuck Stevens. Johnson continued, though, by noting that “despite the ongoing recalls, the pace of sales in the U.S. appears steady.” The article also mentions DOT’s $35 million fine leveled against GM last week for the ignition-switch-related recalls, which affected 2.6 million vehicles.

The Detroit Bureau reports, Johnson also stated, “It is tough to say if recalls from past vehicles has already peaked, as the team has not yet completed mining the data,” further saying that “given the data-mining is being conducted on an issue by issue, and not on a make and model-year basis, it is possible that GM may issue further recalls for vehicles which have already been recalled.”  

The website of the Investor Place has similar coverage on the number of recalled vehicles, adding that the automaker is now also responsible for putting in place “sweeping changes to its internal review of safety-related issues.” According to the report, Federal rules stipulate that car manufacturers must give NHTSA notice “within five business days of determining that a safety-related defect exists.”

GM recalls 500 pickups, SUVs for air bag issues

 The AP reports that GM is adding “about 500 pickup trucks and SUVs” to its recall list for problems related to the air bag. This makes GM’s “30th recall so far this year,” the article points out, further noting that in 2014 the automaker “has recalled more than 13.8 million vehicles in the U.S.”

USA Today reports online that the affected models are from the 2014 and 2015 model years and are being recalled “because a supplier provided a potentially faulty part in the control module for the trucks’ airbags.”

   

GM, Delphi win delay of four Texas customer injury suits

Bloomberg News reports that GM and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC both received “a delay of four lawsuits by Texas customers” for incidents related to recalled vehicles, after filing emergency requests with the Texas courts.

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

GM announces another recall

NBC Nightly News reported that GM has recalled “more than 218,000 small cars – most of them Chevy Aveos from model years 2004 to 2008. GM says a faulty part of the daytime running lights could overheat and cause a fire.”

Fox Business reported on its website that the new recall, announced Wednesday, comes a day after the company announced a recall of “2.6 million vehicles globally, most of them in the United States.”

Treasury had no knowledge of ignition problem during bankruptcy. Bloomberg News reports that the Department of the Treasury “had no information” about the GM ignition-switch defect “that’s been linked to 13 deaths, members of the team that oversaw the automaker’s restructuring” said on Tuesday. The Treasury team that worked to “guide” GM through its bankruptcy “never learned of the safety concern – and would have had a hard time finding out, even if it had tried, said Harry Wilson, who had been a member of the government’s automotive task force.”

In a piece picked up from the Detroit Free Press, USA Today reports that Steve Rattner, who “directed the Obama administration’s efforts to run GM and Chrysler through bankruptcy with the more than $80 billion of taxpayer dollars,” said, “As best we know, the senior people at GM didn’t even know,. They can’t tell you about something they didn’t know.”

Barra updates lawmakers on internal probe. The Wall Street Journal reports that GM CEO Mary Barra was back on Capitol Hill to privately brief Sen. Claire McCaskill and others on the progress of an internal probe into the ignition defects.

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

GM recalls another 2.4 million cars

General Motors recalled an additional 2.4 million vehicles on Tuesday, bringing their 2014 total of recalled vehicles to 14 million. The story was covered widely, totaling 4:40 on all three news networks with online and print coverage including Reuters, the AP, and USA Today. Most of the stories included mention of GM’s faulty ignition switches that caused 13 deaths.

The CBS Evening News reports that GM has issued recalls for almost five times as many cars in 2014 as the company sold in all of 2013. CBS says that GM’s approach to recalls at this point is “if in doubt, recall.” CBS reports that the recalls have cost GM $1.9 billion in 2014 and shares of the company have dropped by nine percent since the start of the ignition switch recall.

NBC Nightly News reports that some of the cars “would not have been recalled in the past but in this case general motors has decided this is the time because of this crisis less announce any recall, let’s get it out of the way.” NBC also reports that owners of used cars may not be aware that their vehicles have been recalled, so owners of GM cars should use Google to see if their vehicle has been recalled. ABC World News briefly reported.

USA Today reports that the vehicles recalled include 1,339,355 2009-2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Arcadias, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlooks due to potentially worn out seat belts; 1,075,102 2004-08 Chevrolet Malibu and Maxx, 2007-08 Saturn Aura, and 2005-08 Pontiac G6 that can fail to display the correct gear; 58 2015 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMNC Sierra HD due to electric connections that can cause a fire; and 1,402 2015 Cadillac Escalades and Escalade ESVs due to faulty passenger airbags. A separate USA Today wonders if “there are any GM cars that haven’t been recalled,” saying that many of the recalls are “dumb mistakes” such as putting rear brakes on a vehicles front wheels.

The Detroit (MI) Free Press reports that no deaths have been reported in any of the latest recalls, but it is not allowing GM dealers to sell any of the Cadillac Escalades and is advising that nobody sits in the front passenger seats of models already sold until the air bag problem is fixed. A separate Detroit (MI) Free Press  article reports that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and NHTSA chief David Friedman “urged Congress to increase the maximum potential fine from $35 million to $300 million for failing to report a safety defect within five days of discovering it.”

Bloomberg News reports that the latest round of GM recalls have increased the total number of recalled vehicles in the US to 22.4 million, the most of any year since 2004.

MLive reported just prior to the recall announcement, quoting Foxx from Friday’s announcement of the $35 million fine against GM, saying “Together these penalties should put all automakers on notice that there is no excuse and zero tolerance for failing to notify the federal government when a defect puts safety at risk.”

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn't require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.   

Appeals court rejects BP bid to reverse ruling in Deepwater Horizon case

A U.S. appeals court will not revisit a decision to reject BP Plc's bid to block businesses from recovering money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even if those businesses could not trace their economic losses to the disaster.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March voted 2-1 to authorize payments on so-called business economic loss claims, and said an injunction preventing payments should be lifted. BP asked the entire 5th Circuit to rehear the case.

However, the 5th Circuit voted 8-5 to let the March ruling stand, according to a court filing made public on Monday.

In a statement, BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said the company is disappointed in the decision, and is considering its options. Plaintiff attorneys Steve Herman and Jim Roy said in a statement they are "pleased that the court of appeals agreed that BP must honor its contract."

The decision is a setback for BP's effort to limit payments over the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and rupture of BP's Macondo oil well.

The disaster killed 11 people and triggered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.

A lower court judge had ruled that BP would have to live with its earlier interpretation of a multibillion dollar settlement agreement over the spill, in which certain businesses claiming losses were presumed to have suffered harm.

BP argued that this would allow businesses to recover for fictitious losses, but the 5th Circuit rejected its appeal.

The case is In re: Deepwater Horizon, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 13-30315 and 13-30329.

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by the oil spill disaster, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

GM announces new recall of nearly 3 million vehicles

General Motors has recalled nearly another 3 million autos, bringing the troubled automaker's total for the year to about 10 million.

GM has been under fire this year for its botched recall of 2.6 million vehicles with an ignition switch problem that the automaker had known about for 10 years. The Department of Justice, Congress and federal auto regulators are currently investigating the decade-long delay.

Most of the cars recalled Thursday were older models built before the company's 2009 bankruptcy, as was the case with the ignition switch recall.

The bulk of the latest recall applies to 2.4 million cars with a wiring problem that's been tied to at least 13 accidents, two injuries and no deaths. Those vehicles include the 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu, the 2004-2007 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, the 2005-2010 Pontiac G6, as well as 2007-2010 Saturn Auras.

The wiring problem could cause the brake lamps to fail to light up when the brakes are applied, or to light up when the brakes are not engaged, the company said. Cruise control, traction control, electronic stability control and panic braking assist operation can also be disabled.

The company issued a service bulletin to dealerships 2008 about the problem, but it never ordered a recall.

The ignition switch recall, which has been tied to at least 13 deaths, also started out as a service bulletin.

CEO Mary Barra has repeatedly said the 10 year delay in that recall was unacceptable and has promised it would not happen again.

Thursday's announcement included four other smaller recalls.

The smallest of the five recalls is also potentially the most serious. GM (GM, Fortune 500) said that 477 trucks have steering problems that can cause accidents. Truck owners are being told they shouldn't even drive their trucks to dealers for repairs. GM will send a flatbed truck to pick up the vehicles, which include some 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and some 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs.

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

Family seeks to reopen case against GM after recalls

The CBS Evening News reported that a family that had previously accepted a settlement from GM is now suing the automaker against in the wake of the recall of more than 2.5 million cars, saying that  GM didn’t tell the truth about a deadly defect. CBS reports that “during sworn testimony in the case, GM engineer Ray DeGiorgio was asked whether he knew about any changes to the switch design.” He said he wasn’t aware of the change but a “document from April 2006, seven years earlier, shows Degiorgio’s signature on a document authorizing a change.”

The Detroit News reports that Attorney Lance Cooper says that “he hopes to depose GM CEO Mary Barra in the new suit, plus Jim Federico, GM’s recently retired executive director of global vehicle integration who has taken a high-level job at Harley-Davidson.” The suit alleges that since the settlement, GM has told the NHTSA and Congress that DeGiorgio’s statements were false. A GM spokesman denied that GM fraudulently concealed relevant and critical facts. Meanwhile, “experts say the outcome of this lawsuit could lead other families who have settled with GM to attempt to reopen cases.”

The Fairfield County (CT) Business Journal reports that attorney Agostinho Ribeiro, CEO of Fairfield County-based Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith, “has assembled a national team of attorneys to represent victims in the national GM recall.” The Journal notes that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently called on the NHTSA “to force GM to take further action to protect the 2.6 million consumers affected by the ignition switch recall announced earlier this year, including urging GM to warn owners to stop driving the recalled cars until they can be repaired.” However, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx opposed Blumenthal’s request, saying, “The NHTSA is satisfied that for now, until the permanent remedy is applied, the safety risk posed by the defect in affected vehicles is sufficiently mitigated by GM’s recommended action.” Ribeiro says that telling drivers it’s safe to continue driving these vehicles “is to blatantly disregard basic standards of consumer safety.”

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

GM executive involved in studying ignition problem retires

The New York Times reports that GM announced on Monday that Jim Federico, a senior engineer, decided to retire after working 36 years for the company. According to the article, documents filed with Federal officials show that Federico, who was responsible for global vehicle integration, “was involved in studying the faulty switches” linked to 13 deaths. The report notes that Federico is the fourth GM executive to retire or resign since the company admitted earlier in the year that it “failed for years to recall cars with faulty ignition switches.” GM spokesman Greg Martin said that Federico’s departure is not related to the continuing investigation into the defective ignition switches. Later, the Times mention that aside from an internal investigation, the recall is being investigated by the NHTSA, the DOJ and a House committee.

Bloomberg News quotes Martin as saying in a released statement that Federico decided to retire “to pursue other opportunities.”

The Detroit Free Press notes that the announcement comes almost a month after the automaker “suspended with pay two engineers — Ray DeGiorgio and Gary Altman, who were involved in the decision to change the ignition switch design without changing the part number.” According to the report, GM CEO Mary Barra has vowed to “hold executives responsible” for the automaker’s failure to “promptly fix the ignition switch on 2.6 million small cars.”

Ignition switch problem may prompt GM to abandon ignition keys

Car Connection reports that “as terrible” as all the news surrounding GM’s ignition switch problems “may be,” the situation “could have one positive outcome: the end of the ignition key.” Citing a Bloomberg News report, the article says that GM CEO, Mary Barra, told a “Congressional committee that the ‘Switchgate’ recall may force” the company to eliminate ignition keys “altogether in favor of push-button systems.” Car Connection says that such a move would end several years of “complaints from consumers.”

We believe that obtaining legal satisfaction from those who harmed you shouldn’t require more hardship. That’s why we do everything we can to streamline the process, and we will file a lawsuit on your behalf if necessary. If you or a loved one has been affected by this recall, and you believe it caused an injury, contact Chhabra & Gibbs today by going to www.cglawms.com or by calling this number: 601-948-8005.

AMS Transvaginal Mesh Litigation Cases Settle for $830 Million

Several plaintiffs' attorneys in Transvaginal Mesh litigation have entered into a settlement agreement in principle with Endo Pharmaceuticals and American Medical Systems for approximately $830 million. The resolution, reported by multiple news sources on April 29, 2014, reconciles roughly 20,000 claims against the companies and is estimated to produce an average award per plaintiff of $40,000.

If you have experienced complications with Transvaginal Mesh, contact Chhabra & Gibbs by going to our website at http://www.cglawms.com  or calling 601-948-8005.