General Motors is prepped to go to trial Monday in a lawsuit over defective ignition switches linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths, continuing a legal battle that has already seen the automaker pay out more than $2 billion in damages and settlements.
Monday's trial in lower Manhattan stems from a May 2014 crash in Tulsa, Okla. Plaintiff Robert Scheuers alleges in the lawsuit that he was injured after his 2003 Saturn Ion ran off the highway, and then struck the ground and trees after becoming airborne after a brief period. He says the front air bag didn't deploy even though he followed GM's instructions to remove all but a single key from his key ring and argues the faulty ignition switch is at fault, according to Reuters.
In its defense, GM argues there is no correlation between the faulty switch and the injuries that Scheuers sustained during the incident.
"GM will show the ignition switch did not rotate and the airbags were not designed to deploy in this accident,'' said General Motors spokesman Jim Cain, according to Auto News.
This trial will mark the first of six trials that will take place throughout the year:
• Trial Two (Barthelemy/Spain) shall take place between March 14, 2016 and April 1, 2016,
• Trial Three (Yingling) shall take place between May 2, 2016 and May 20, 2016;
• Trial Four (Reid) shall take place between July 25, 2016 and August 12, 2016;
• Trial Five (Cockram) shall take place between September 12, 2016 and September 30, 2016;
• Trial Six (Norville) shall take place between November 14, 2016 and December 2, 2016.
In each case, the plaintiff will be tasked with proving to a jury that the ignition switch rotated during the accident, the timing of rotation prevented the air bag from deploying and that the plaintiff's injuries were the direct result of this. The verdict of this case, though not binding on the others, will provide insight into the amount of evidence the plaintiff will require to prove his or her case.
The ignition switch scandal has been costly for the automaker which still has several hundred lawsuits for injuries deaths and lost vehicle value to contend with. General Motors paid $900 million in September to end a related U.S. criminal probe, and paid $575 million to settle about 1,380 injury and death cases and shareholder litigation. Last month, the company paid out $594.5 million to settled 399 injury and death claims through an independent fund.
The case is General Motors Ignition Switch Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-2543, filed Jan. 5, 2016.
