Thomas J. Henry Sues GM Engineers Over Defective Ignition Switches
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (April 10, 2014) — Thomas J. Henry, a personal injury attorney leading the nation in GM recall injury and death litigation, has filed yet another lawsuit through his legal team naming current and former GM engineers Raymond DeGiorgio, Gary Altman, Mark LaNeve, Lori Queen, and Jim Queen as defendants in a recent ignition switch recall case.
According to the lawsuit filed by the legal team on April 10, 2014, the engineers had knowledge about defects in the ignition switches of 2.6 million Chevy, Saturn, and Pontiac vehicles. The ignition switches on these vehicles can fail, causing loss of vehicle power, loss of power steering, and non-deployment of airbags. The recalled vehicles have been linked to 303 deaths and numerous other accidents and injuries.
DETAILS OF THE CHEVY COBALT ACCIDENT
The lawsuit was filed on behalf Didra De Los Santos, the owner of a 2006 Chevy Cobalt which was included in the GM ignition switch recall.
On September 4, 2013, Didra was involved in a serious auto accident in her 2006 Chevy Cobalt. According to the lawsuit, she sustained serious and permanent spinal injuries in the crash.
Forensic experts retrieved the black box from the vehicle and determined that air bags failed to deploy in the accident, a known side-effect of recalled GM vehicles with defective ignition switches.
“DeGiorgio designed an improvement for the ignition switch in 2007, although he later denied, under oath, that he had done so. He did this in what can only be described as an attempt to conceal a defective condition that GM knew about in the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, the vehicle owned by Plaintiff.”
– Excerpt from Lawsuit (Cause # 2014-CCV-60788-2, filed In Nueces County Court at Law #2)
ENGINEERS AND THE RECALL
According to reports, email correspondence between GM engineers has revealed that the individuals responsible for approving the fatal parts not only knew that the parts were defective, but even considered replacing them for that reason. Ultimately, it was determined that replacing the switches was not “cost effective.” The cost of replacing the switches was reportedly 90 cents.
GM engineers named in the lawsuit include:
Raymond DeGiorgio – According to the lawsuit, DeGiorgio, lead design engineer for the Chevy Cobalt, approved a redesign of the ignition switch in 2006 but did not document the decision “in what can only be described as an attempt to conceal a defective condition.” He has since been suspended with pay.
Gary Altman, Jim Queen, Lori Queen, and Mark LaNeve – According to the lawsuit, these were all high ranking engineers who are accused of being “involved in the cover up at GM concerning the extent of New GM’s knowledge of the defective switch and the dangers it posed to the Plaintiff and others.”
THOMAS J. HENRY COMMENTS ON LATEST LAWSUIT
Thomas J. Henry is representing a very large number of individuals who were injured and the families of those who lost loved ones in accidents involving the recalled vehicles.
According to lead attorney Thomas J. Henry, the naming of engineers in this lawsuit will help hold responsible parties accountable for their role in covering up these fatal defects.
“This is about corporate responsibility and personal responsibility,” he stated. “The victims and their families deserve to know exactly what happened – who approved these defective parts and who covered it up.”
“We intend to hold accountable every individual who had a part in knowingly letting these defective vehicles on the road- from the engineers, to the CEOs.”
ABOUT THE FIRM
Thomas J. Henry, a national law firm and one of the largest injury firms in the country, is representing victims in all 50 states. Thomas J. Henry is representing a large number of families who have lost loved ones and individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries.
