Nothing can be more painful than the loss of a loved one. When a Virginia family member dies, the surviving family members feel an indescribable loss. The grief is even worse when the death is caused by the negligence of another. A wrongful death lawsuit may compensate the family by seeking damages. Now, in a recent case in Virginia, a family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against a major automobile manufacturer, General Motors (GM).
In 2012, the Virginian family had lost a young family member in an auto accident. The surviving family members claim was caused by a defect in the ignition key of the Chevy Cobalt that their son was driving. The boy’s uncle says the car swerved many times, hit a tree and then landed in a ditch. The boy died in the accident. His uncle says that the boy was not impaired and on that day, he was traveling a route that he drove every day.
According to the family, the fatality was caused by an ignition defect that is behind the death of at least 50 people. This defect results in the vehicle’s ignition going into the “accessory” position, while the vehicle is still moving. This causes the driver to lose control. According to the boy’s family, a similar thing happened in the boy’s case.
GM had accepted some claims of this nature. The boy’s mother did submit a claim. Nonetheless, after submitting the claim, she was told that she was not eligible for compensation since the car’s air bag was deployed. Images from the accident show that the bags did not deploy until after the accident. Hence, the surviving family members, including the boy’s mother, have decided to initiate the wrongful death lawsuit.
Source: WTOP, “Virginia family sues General Motors after 2012 death,” Mike Murillo, Jan.30, 2015