On February 13, 2014, General Motors (GM) recalled 780,000
Chevrolet Cobalts and various Pontiac models for repair of a faulty ignition
switch that has been found to cause the ignition key to slip out of the run
position. GM is aware of situations
where the key has slipped due to heavy key chains and due to the vehicles hitting
hard bumps in the road. When this
occurs, the engine can shut off leading to loss of power to vital systems such
as power steering, airbags and anti-lock brakes.
On February 25, 2014, GM expanded the recall to cover certain
Chevy, Pontiac, and Saturn cars, bringing the total recall to as high as 1.4
million vehicles.
GM has acknowledged the defect caused or contributed to 31
crashes involving airbags which did not deploy and the deaths of 13 motorists. Evidence
from civil lawsuits shows that GM knew about the Cobalt ignition defect as far
back as 2004, but GM issued no recall.
This and other evidence has led to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New
York opening a criminal investigation into GM’s knowledge of the ignition
defect.
If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of
this defect in a Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, Chevy HHR, Pontiac
Solstice or Saturn Sky, please call the Law Office of Stephen A. Burroughs for a free consultation. GM may have culpability based on the defect
and the failure to warn consumers of the known danger.
