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Hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death suits remain open.

GM to Pay Over $2 Billion for Faulty Ignition Switch Accidents For years, GM concealed a known flaw with the ignition switches installed in 2.6 million Chevy Cobalts and other older small GM cars. The flaw caused the switches to move from the “run” position unexpectedly while the cars were in motion, cutting power to the engine, steering, and brakes and causing numerous accidents. Because the flaw also caused the airbags to lose power, the injuries suffered in these accidents were very severe and included at least 169 deaths.

Earlier this month, GM agreed to two separate settlements that will push the total cost of liability for deaths and injuries linked to their faulty ignition switches to $2.135 billion. The first settlement was a $900 million accord with the federal government, which will end criminal investigation into GM’s handling of the flaw and the subsequent vehicle recalls. The second settlement was a civil agreement, providing a total of $575 million in damages to be split between 1,385 personal injury and wrongful death victims and participants in a class action lawsuit alleging that GM’s concealment of the safety flaw depressed the value of the GM stock that they owned.

These settlements are in addition to the $625 million in compensation that GM has already set aside for victims through its own internal fund, and the $35 million in fines paid to the National Highway Transportation Safety Authority.

This $575 million settlement does not necessarily spell the end of civil actions against GM. Plaintiffs included in the settlement still have the opportunity to review the offer, and if enough of them refuse the offer the settlement will fail and the cases will have to be litigated. Plus, there are hundreds of lawsuits still pending that will require their own separate settlements in the future. Six such cases are currently set for trial, with the first one scheduled for January.

GM has been understandably reluctant to let matters go to court, as they have already had a whole lot of dirty laundry aired and do not want more exposure. However, some experts hope that at least one case does go to trial, because a jury could decide to hit the company with a huge punitive damage award, sending a powerful message as to the despicable nature of the company’s disregard for public safety in knowingly producing faulty vehicles.

We will be watching these cases carefully to see what develops and whether the individual victims receive ample compensation for their losses.