Products Liability Attorney Jim Gilbert Calls for Victims’ Fund to Pay GM and Chrysler Plaintiffs
General Motors Corp. has announced that it will take responsibility for auto products liability lawsuits that are filed after the car maker sought bankruptcy protection. This is good news for people who were injured after June 1. Once the company emerges from bankruptcy, the “new GM” will honor future personal injury claims involving defective autos that were made by the “old GM.”
However, the injury victims and families that filed their products liability lawsuits before the “old GM” filed for bankruptcy still have not been given a way to obtain personal injury compensation or wrongful death recovery from the car manufacturer. 38% of all auto products liability claims filed between 2003 and 2008 were against GM. A committee that represents GM car crash victims says that over 300 people have personal injury claims valued at over $1.25 billion against General Motors.
The plaintiffs of the 2,642 products liability claims against the now bankrupt Chrysler face the same lack of recourse for financial recovery. While Fiat will assume responsibilities for warranties belonging to all Chrysler autos, the Italian auto manufacturer won’t be liable for past and future products liability claims involving defective Chrysler vehicles.
For example, Colorado Springs resident Sonya Segid’s arm was shattered when an air bag in her Dodge vehicle exploded. She now has two long scars on her arm. She is a sergeant who can no longer fire weapons and no won’t be joining her husband in Iraq.
Auto products liability lawyer Jim Gilbert of the law firm of Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte PC represents a number of personal injury and wrongful death clients in several states with products liability claims against Chrysler and GM. Mr. Gilbert is one of the attorneys calling on Congress to establish a fund for Chrysler and GM products liability victims. Otherwise, states could end up paying for medical care. Also, Attorney Gilbert is concerned that failure to determine what defect caused an injury or death could also result in more people getting hurt in the future because they won’t receive any warning about possible defects.
Considering that most car accidents caused by motor vehicle defects result in catastrophic if not fatal injuries that can be very costly to treat and recover from, this leaves auto products liability victims and their families at a huge disadvantage. Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte PC is nationally recognized as one of the products liability law firms in the country that obtains the best results possible for clients and their families. To find out more about our auto products liability lawyers and read about their latest headline making cases, please click on our In The News page for more information.
Contact our products liability law firm today.
Auto deals leave victims without day in court, 9News.com, June 24, 2009
G.M. to Maintain Legal Liability for Claims, New York Times, June 27, 2009
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