May 2015 - Page 2 of 2 - Care For Crash Victims

Insights Into NHTSA’s New Activity on Recalls

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: “The U.S. auto safety watchdog, long criticized as toothless and slow, is showing both bark and bite under its new boss – a testimony to his credentials as a safety expert and a hardening of the administration’s policy after a wave of deadly defects.”http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/24/us-autos-takata-nhtsa-insight-idUSKBN0O90F220150524

What You Can Do When Your Car is Recalled

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Good advice from a fellow retired NHTSA Official is in a Huffington Post article:“Ask for a loaner vehicle. You may get one — and it might just save your life.…

Allan Kam, a former senior enforcement attorney at NHTSA, told The Huffington Post that the planned hearing speaks to the severity of the problem. Kam, who served at NHTSA from 1975 to 2000, said that in the past, recalls were completed much more rapidly.

“It typically did not take months,” Kam said. Recalls that long were “the exception, rather than the rule.” See

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/21/auto-recall-takata-airbags_n_7379654.html?1432255418

History of Auto Safety: Progress & Pressing Needs

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Keith Crain, Editor in Chief of Automotive News, notes 50 years of auto safety progress since publication of “Unsafe At Any Speed” by Ralph Nader.

“This industry can take pride in its accomplishments over the years. Despite that, it still needs outsiders to push for higher safety standards and greater compliance with existing rules.

Until there are no auto-related deaths or injuries, one could say that the work is not done.” See

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150427/OEM11/304279992/50-years-since-unsafe-at-any-speed

Michael R. Lemov, author of Car Safety Wars, in a Baltimore Sun Op-Ed, offers “a page of history about suffering and death on America’s highways and one big reason why it is still happening today.” Seehttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-car-safety-20150430-story.html

Auto safety history continues to be of life or death or disability importance to all Americans. On an average day Americans suffer nearly 100 crash deaths, 400 serious crash injuries, and estimated losses of $2 Billion.

Automotive News reports that nearly 50% of all vehicles on the roads are not covered by existing safety regulations. Seehttp://www.autonews.com/article/20150430/OEM11/150439993/almost-half-of-u-s-vehicles-arent-covered-under-existing-safety

We can, and must, do better protecting Americans from crash injuries.

Let’s push Presidential candidates to set a Vision Zero goal of zero deaths and serious crash injuries in a decade. Seehttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforFebruary2015.pdf

Lou

GM May Settle Criminal Wrongdoing Charges

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times reports: “Justice Department investigators have identified criminal wrongdoing in General Motors’ failure to disclose a defect tied to at least 104 deaths, and are negotiating what is expected to be a record penalty, according to people briefed on the inquiry.” Seehttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/business/gm-inquiry-said-to-find-criminal-wrongdoing.html?emc=edit_na_20150522&nlid=70651852&_r=1

Fiat Chrysler Calls Verdict “grossly excessive”

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

“Fiat Chrysler has asked a Georgia judge for a new trial a month after a jury awarded $150 million to the family of a 4-year-old Georgia boy killed in a crash and fire involving a Jeep. The company, which makes Jeeps, says the jury’s award of $120 million for the life of Remington Walden and $30 million for his pain and suffering are “grossly excessive” and illegal under Georgia law….Federal documents show that at least 75 people have died in post-crash fires due to the tanks.” Seehttp://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/05/08/fiat-chrysler-seeks-new-trial-in-georgia-jeep-fire-case

This action by Fiat Chrysler raises questions of what is “grossly excessive,” Justice, Safety, and who is responsible?

Grossly Excessive

One measure of “excessive” is the fact that DOT Policy Guidance (copy attached) is that the value of a statistical life is $9.1 million. Multiply that by the 75 post crash fire deaths yields a value of $682 million. That does not include values for uncounted past and future tragedies.

Justice

To serve Justice, verdicts have multiple purposes.

“Civil cases are settled primarily by means of monetary compensation for harm done (“damages“) and orders intended to prevent future harm (for example injunctions). Under some legal systems an award of damages involves some scope for retribution, denunciation and deterrence, by means of additional categories of damages beyond simple compensation, covering a punitive effect, social disapprobation, and potentially, deterrence, and occasionally disgorgement (forfeit of any gain, even if no loss was caused to the other party).” Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice

Safety & Criminal Penalties

It may be that to advance safety for us all, we need criminal penalties at corporate and executive levels as called for recently by two law professors based on the GM tragedies. “GM’s success in working the system must be offset by criminal culpability, on both the corporate and individual level, for leaving consumers to drive in ticking time bombs for so many years.” Seehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/rena-steinzor/gm-and-its-no-good-very-bad_b_7191124.html

Who is Responsible?

Who is in charge of Fiat Chrysler? See bio of Sergio Marchionne, lawyer, dual citizen of Canada and Italy, board member of Phillip Morris and SGS S.A. Chair.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Marchionne

“Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesNV Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is on track to get $72 million in total pay for 2014—mostly from bonuses and a stock award tied to Fiat’s takeover of Chrysler that led to a 61% jump in its share price.” Seehttp://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-ceo-marchionne-earned-34-6-million-in-2014-1425661936

The Center for Auto Safety made a statement on this case and pointed out additional responsibilities and needs to achieve Safety and Justice. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-casjeepjudgement.php

Lou

GM Feinberg “Compensation” Program – Counts 100th Death Case

May, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

On May 11, 2015, the NY Times reports latest death toll of the ignition switch defect counted by the GM Feinberg program has reached 100 deaths.

“Lawyers involved in litigation against G.M. have accused the company of deliberately understating the magnitude of switch-related deaths in congressional hearings last year.

“The success of the cover-up for over a decade leaves most of the victims unaccounted for,” said Robert Hilliard, one of the lead lawyers in a consolidated group of lawsuits against G.M. “One hundred is not even the tip of the iceberg.”….

“In the fund’s regular weekly update released on Monday, Mr. Feinberg said that more than 4,300 claims for deaths and injuries had been filed.

“Of that total, the fund has so far approved payments for 100 deaths and 184 injuries.

“There are still 37 death claims and 589 injury claims that are under review, the fund said.”….

“The switch crisis led to dozens of other recalls last year by G.M., the nation’s largest automaker, for a wide range of vehicle defects. The company has spent about $3 billion over all on the recalls, including setting aside $600 million to compensate ignition-switch victims.”

See http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/business/gms-ignition-switch-death-toll-hits-100.html?emc=edit_th_20150512&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=20046079&_r=0

While no amount of money can “compensate” for a life lost, if each of the 100 crash victims were to receive the DOT Policy Guidance value of a statistical life of $9.1 million, it would amount to nearly $1 Billion – more than the $600 million set aside by GM for both deaths and serious injuries.

Mr. Feinberg asked me for that DOT Policy Guidance and I provided it in June of 2014. I also provided evidence that the number of crashes might amount to nearly 3,500 airbag non-deployment crashes using GM OnStar data published by NHTSA. ““Extrapolating 10 years of data from the 2005 GM data, there may have been nearly 3,500 frontal air bag non-deployment crashes that met the GM crash severity threshold for deployment.” See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReport-May2014.pdf

This is an important number because with the millions of GM vehicles that will be on the roads with this defect unfixed for many more months to come we are all in danger. Both occupants of GM vehicles and all others are endangered because when the ignition switch turns to accessory or off positions the driver loses power, power steering, power brakes and control of the vehicle — and airbag protection.

The 3,500 number over ten years equals about one such airbag non-deployment crash per day in the U.S.A.

I believe it is fair to say that neither NHTSA nor GM are handling this with the urgency required for protecting the American people. Both Senator Blumenthal and Markey are right to call for a “Park It Now” safety advisory that NHTSA and GM have failed to issue so far.” See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-feinberg-comp.php

Nearly one year later, existing victims are unlikely to receive justice, and future victims unlikely to receive safety or justice. GM and the Obama Administration have a duty to do better than this.

Senators Markey and Blumenthal just released the following statement:

BLUMENTHAL, MARKEY STATEMENT ON GM COMPENSATION FUND APPROVAL OF 100TH DEATH CLAIM RELATED TO FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement on General Motors’ (GM) compensation fund’s approval of the 100th death claim related to faulty ignition switches:

“With today’s grim milestone, we now know that at least 100 people have lost their lives because GM made defective cars and lied about them and the Transportation Department failed to aggressively investigate. For years, families like the Averills in Connecticut and many others across the country were left without answers as they grieved for loved ones who died in car accidents. What caused the accident? Why did the airbags fail to deploy? All the while, GM knew, and NHTSA should have known. Sadly, we may never know the full extent of the injuries and deaths attributable to GM’s defective, deadly ignition switch. But these families deserve justice. Despite a recent ruling that GM is protected from liabilities due to a bankruptcy shield, we are committed to ensuring that justice is granted for all victims and their families.

“We will be reintroducing legislation in the coming weeks to ensure auto manufacturers provide more information to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting systemabout incidents involving fatalities. This information should be published by NHTSA in a publicly available, searchable and user-friendly format so that consumers and independent safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves. We also propose to lift the abysmally low $35 million cap the safety agency faces when fining automakers for egregious violations of the safety act, like the GM ignition switch.”

###

Lou