General Motors will certainly go to trial in January for what is considered to be the initial “bellwether” case in the ignition switch farce. An U.S. court turned down GM’s movement to dismiss the case, leading the way for a trial date of January 11.
During the trial, a jury will listen to the case of Robert Scheuer, who presumably suffered injuries because of an ignition switch flaw on his 2003 Saturn Ion. In May 2014, another vehicle forced Scheuer off an Oklahoma highway causing him to hit two trees. Thanks to a malfunctioning ignition button, the air bags did not set up, his suit asserts.
The Ion was one of a variety of older autos recalled since they could slip out of the “run” position while moving. In particular vehicles, the engine may stall and also air bags might not deploy in a crash. GM began recalling 2.6 million vehicles in 2013 to take care of the flaw, although the firm has since confessed to finding out about the trouble over a decade previously. A victim’s compensation program headed by attorney Kenneth Feinberg tallied 124 fatalities pertaining to the ignition switches.
The very first GM ignition switch test is just one of 6 bellwether tests arranged for 2016, reports Reuters. The results of these instances can establish the fate of future cases including malfunctioning ignition buttons.
