GM Cleared in First Court Case Regarding Ignition Switch Fix
Roughly 230 cases are pending in federal court, alleging the new ignition switch is still causing accidents.
A federal jury has ruled GM was not at fault in regard to an Arizona man's claim that the company's new ignition switch was responsible for an accident.
Plaintiff Dennis Ward claimed his defective new switch suddenly rotated out of place which cut off power making Ward unable to brake or steer the car.
“In this case, the jury carefully considered the evidence and found that the ignition switch in this car was not defective and played no role in the accident,” GM said in a statement after the verdict, according to Automotive News.
Hundreds of people have claimed the new 190 switch, which replaced the 423 switch involved in the very messy recall from a couple years ago, is causing trouble.
After GM finally admitted the 423 ignition switch was defective, the ensuing 2014 recall affected 2.6 million vehicles. GM continues to insist the new ignition fixes the issues with the old one by using a stronger spring and haven’t admitted to any defects pertaining to the new 190 switch.
Automotive News says that during the trial, “The company's defense lawyers had said the accident was Ward's own fault for not paying attention to traffic conditions and the road ahead.”
This verdict is great news for GM—but depending on how the other five test trials shake out, The General could still have trouble on its hands.
