New GM Lawsuit Aims at Pre-Bankruptcy Ignition Claims

A Texas attorney has filed his second lawsuit in three days on behalf of people claimed to be injured or killed in crashes involving General Motors Co. cars equipped with faulty ignition switches.

This new complaint covers 136 people who were injured and 20 who died in crashes that occurred before GM's bankruptcy in 2009 and whose vehicles are not part of GM's initial 2.6 million-unit recall.

On Tuesday attorney Bob Hillard filed suit on behalf of 658 plaintiffs who were injured or killed in crashes involving the additional 12 million cars GM has recalled for ignition switch problems.

GM will begin taking claims on Friday from victims linked to the original 2.6 million recalled cars. The company has identified 13 fatalities associated with those vehicles.

Hillard's two lawsuits claim the scope of the compensation program is too narrow. The first claim covers crashes occurred after GM's bankruptcy restructuring. The new filing addresses pre-bankruptcy crashes that GM says are the responsibility of "old" GM.

Both Hillard lawsuits include crashes in which the airbags deployed. All 15 million of the recalled GM ignition switches are blamed for slipping out of the "on" position, thereby turning off the engine and cutting power to the airbag system.