General Motors was hit with a wrongful death lawsuit last week, believed to be the first over ignition switch problems since the automaker's massive recall of 1.6 million vehicles back in February.
A lawsuit was filed on March 21 in Minnesota state court on behalf of three teenage girls who were involved in a 2006 crash while riding in a 2005 Chevy Cobalt.
The vehicle is one of the many models GM recalled over ignition problems earlier this year.
Despite learning of the ignition issues back in 2001, and releasing related service bulletins to dealers suggesting remedies in 2005, GM waited until February to announce a recall.
Since word got out regarding how long the automaker knew about the issue, GM has since apologized for how it handled the recall.
To no surprise, the lawsuit accuses GM of knowing about the defect for over decade, but failing to take action to try fixing affected vehicles.
"GM hid this dangerous, life-threatening defect from my clients and all other Cobalt drivers for over a decade just to avoid the cost of a recall," said a lawyer for the families, Robert Hilliard of Hilliard Munoz Gonzales, in a statement, according to Reuters. "GM is guilty of betraying our trust."
GM spokesman, Jim Cain, said the company is working on a formal response to the lawsuit.
"Right now, our biggest focus is on getting these vehicles recalled as quickly as we can with as little inconvenience to customers as possible," said Cain.
The Chevy Cobalt's ignition switch suddenly turned from the "Run" to "Accessory" position, causing the braking, airbag, and steering systems to suddenly lose power.
The driver, 19-year-old Megan Phillips, then lost control of the vehicle, which went off the road and hit a telephone junction box and two trees, according to the lawsuit.
As a result, Amy Rademaker, 15, and Natasha Weigel, 18, were both killed and Phillips sustained severe injuries to her brain and body.
The family members of Rademaker and Weigel, as well as Phillips, are looking for over $50,000 from GM, according to Hilliard.
The 2006 accident took place before GM's bankruptcy filing back in 2009.
The self-proclaimed "new GM," is not responsible under the terms of its bankruptcy exit for incidents or crashes that took place before July 2009, according to Reuters.
Claims must be brought against the pre-bankruptcy company, not the current one, according to GM.
Regardless, the lawsuit still names the "new" GM as a defendant.
GM has been hit with at around five proposed class actions by customers who say their vehicles lost value.
The automaker received reports of approximately 12 deaths and 34 crashes involving recalled vehicles.
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