GM/Feinberg Minimization Plan Saved GM Money At The Expense of Public Safety
August, 2015
The Detroit News reports:
“Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said the “burden of proof on the individual consumer was always too high,” and that some may not have pursued claims because they didn’t have supporting documents.
“The entire program was designed to get help get Congress and the Justice Department off GM’s back,” Ditlow said. “The one thing is clear that we will never know how many people were killed or injured because it goes back so far.”
The ignition defect caused the engines in some vehicles to stop running, disabling power steering and air bags. Because accident investigators, for a decade, didn’t know of the flaw and may have attributed wrecks to other factors, it’s impossible to say how many accidents, deaths and injuries were truly the result of the bad part.
Texas lawyer Robert Hilliard, one of the lead lawyers suing GM over ignition defects, said Monday he has a mixed review of the compensation program, noting that the amount of some compensation awards was tied to hospitalization — a provision he called “clunky and unfair.”
He said some injuries were back- and neck-related “as you are slammed into the steering wheel and no air bag deploys.”
“Many of my clients were fortunate enough not to suffer severe bleeding or other open-wound type injuries, but ended up having surgery months later because of neck/back injuries. As they were sent home from the emergency room and not admitted — Feinberg does not allow for consideration of the surgeries. This led to a gross unfairness for many and a very small offer,” Hilliard said.” See
As I warned, past and future GM crash victims will suffer with less safety and less compensation than justice would require.
https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforDecember2014.pdf
Lou
