General Motors Co. settles ignition-switch case ahead of third trial

By Staff Writer | Apr 08, 2016 06:30 AM EDT

The supposed third case of General Motors Co. over its alleged faulty ignition switch has been settled prior to its trial. The faulty switch on GM's cars have been accounted to nearly 400 injuries and deaths.

According to ABC News, the attorney of General Motor Co. and the widow of a man who died in a car crash in a 2013 case reached an agreement. It was still unclear though why the company decided to settle the case. The legal representative of Yingling does not have any information either.

General Motor already won the first case when the six test trial schedule over the ignition switch has been given a verdict. The company succeeded in proving that the initial allegations of the switch slipping out of place which causes the engine to stop and eventually cut of the power to the brake, the steering and the air bag systems are not true. One of the plaintiffs of the case also gave a misleading testimony as per Reuters.

According to The Wall Street Journal, General Motors has already settled more than $2 billion worth in damages with the US Justice Department, thousands of consumers and its shareholders. The settlement included $575 million to end its shareholders suit and settle more than 1,300 other incidents of deaths and injuries.

Unlike any other trial that GM has entered into, the case of Yinling's husband was not a mere injury but rather a death case. It was one of the cases that the lawyers had picked in order to represent their side in the test trials.

The plaintiffs' case centers on the death of James Yinling, a father of five, who died in a crash in Bedford County, Pennsylvania on November 21, 2013. Lawyers claim that his death was a caused by GM's faulty ignition switch on his Saturn Ion 2006 model.

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