Lawyers Allege GM ‘Cover-Up’ Of Deadly Ignition Switch Fiasco

GM’s CEO Mary Barra could really be sweating under these new allegations…

General Motors, one of the biggest names in the American automobile manufacturing sector, seems to have landed in hot water. Just when it seemed to have put the nightmare of the 2009 bankruptcy far behind, it appears to have landed into a fresh and possibly most shameful crisis.

The reason is a defective ignition switch that cuts out power to vehicles, and this has happened in at least 2.6 million automobiles which have been recalled by GM till date. Even the prestigious Chevy Cobalt has suffered the same fate. Many people have suffered injuries and at least 13 individuals are suspected to have died due to this problem. However, the outside claims fund of GM has admitted that the issue has resulted in as many as 67 deaths. The precise extent of the damage will remain out of the domain of public knowledge until a final count is done by plaintiffs once all claims have been submitted.

But lawyers who are suing the company now say that they have found fresh documents which can prove that GM had tried to cover up the incident. They hold that the documents contradict the report of Anton R. Valukas, the former U.S. Attorney who was commissioned by GM to review the situation when the ignition switch crisis was at its peak last year.

The report mostly put the blame for the problem on passing of buck, miscommunication and incompetency. It also especially blamed the engineers, with one of them especially being held responsible. The report also gave a clean chit to the executive management and the board of the company, saying that they did not deliberately make any effort to conceal the issue.

But lawyers suing the company now say that they have got access to documents that were earlier regarded confidential, including communication between lawyers and executives, which are in direct opposition to the conclusions drawn by the report of Anton R. Valukas.

Lance Cooper, one of the two attorneys to handle the cases regarding the faulty ignition switches, said,

“We believe the documents show, and the testimony that will come out that this wasn’t incompetence, it was a cover-up.”

He further added that the evidence that backs this claim will be released in January next year once the first class action lawsuit starts.

Source: Data and information presented on this blog have been sourced http://jalopnik.com/lawyers-allege-gm-cover-up-of-deadly-ignition-switch-fi-1691965986