The recalls from General Motors Corporation (GM) just keep coming and within the news releases from the GM CEO, it’s assumed that more GM recalls are coming in the near future. This week, for instance, the car maker issued another recall announcement where SIX additional recalls of its vehicles are issued.
This week’s recall announcement alone would be a major recall. GM recalled 7.6 million GM vehicles — and especially concerning about this week’s GM Recall was the revelation that cars made and sold almost 20 years ago are dangerous.
That’s right. For almost two decades, GM has been selling cars, and the American public has been buying GM cars (and trucks and minivans) that we now know to be defective and unsafe.
1997 – 2005 Chevy Malibu and 2003 – 2014 Cadillac CTS Recalls
Specifically, the Chevrolet Malibu has been recalled for model years 1997 through 2005 in this recall. Also, the Cadillac CTS model years 2003 through 2014 has been recalled. Why? Both the Chevy Malibu and the Cadillac CTS have “unintended ignition key rotation” — which is dangerous and a potentially deadly defect.
In fact, this ignition switch problem is the same product defect that resulted in some of the other MILLIONS of GM model vehicles being recalled in the past few months. It is this same ignition switch defect that forms the basis of the controversial GM “victims compensation fund” that was announced this week, providing settlement offers to some GM car owners (not all, and not for every situation).
Check Your General Motors Vehicle Here Using Your VIN
If you can find the vehicle identification number for the GM model (hint: if not in or on the car, check your insurance paperwork, auto insurance policies will have the VIN), then you can go online and check to see if your General Motors vehicle has been recalled.
Go HERE to input the VIN and find out at the General Motors website.
What Does This Mean? Millions of Crash Claims and Accident Causes May Be Reexamined for GM Liability
As more and more General Motors cars and GM trucks and GM minivans get recalled, the time period for these model years seems to be increasing. It is shocking to consider that models like the beloved Chevy Malibu (so popular that if you haven’t owned one, you know someone who has) have been dangerously defective since 1997.
Which means that wrecks have happened because of these product defects over the years and there may be claims paid and verdicts issued where the fault was not found to lie with General Motors. We wrote earlier about the Texas driver who had a felony conviction on her record after a fatal car crash involving a GM car, where no one knew the GM vehicle defect had caused the accident and the resulting death of her passenger (and fiance).
Now, she is in the process of pursuing justice against GM and getting that criminal record erased. See: “GM Recalls: What is General Motors’ Liability for Crashes Going Back 10 Years?”
Her story will be among many others where GM has evaded justice in car crashes and traffic accidents for years as these serious car defects were not revealed to the public and GM just kept selling cars.
Products Liability Law Exists for Justice
In both Indiana and Illinois, state products liability personal injury law provides the basis for victims of defective products, like these GM vehicles and the dangerous components within them, to find justice from the businesses that chose profits over people.
If you have questions regarding a GM recall issue, then please feel free to contact our offices for more information.
You can also read our past coverages of this evolving GM Recall Crisis, including details on what cars are involved in the various recalls:
- GM Recalls Millions of GM Cars and SUVs: Congress Is Investigating while Justice Department Begins Criminal Investigation – Is Your GM Car Dangerous?
- GM Recall: GM Ignition Switch Dangers Grow – Moves to Stop People from Driving these Cars, Get Victims’ Claims Recognized
- RECALLS JUST KEEP HAPPENING: CAR MAKERS LIKE GENERAL MOTORS MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY, MANY SERIOUS INJURIES AND DEATHS
