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Class Action Suit Filed Against GM Corp. for Faulty Wipers
April 6, 2006
A federal lawsuit filed this week against General Motors Corp. alleges the windshield wipers on the automakers older vehicles are defective.
The class action suit claims GM should have recalled 7.5 million of its trucks, vans, and SUVs between the model years 1994 to 1999 because the window wipers didn't work sufficiently.
In 2003, GM recalled almost two million vehicles to restore window wiper circuit boards and motor covers. The recall was part of the windshield wiper replacement program GM introduced in 1998. At that time, the automaker said the faulty wipers had not caused any fatalities.
However, according to the lawsuit, GM "demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety and well-being" of people who still own and use the millions of vehicles that were not recalled.
The lawsuit alleges that a federal investigation revealed wiper troubles have resulted in at least 11 crashes and 225,000 warranty claims. Daniel Anderson, the attorney handling the case, said he knew of more than one serious injury from an accident involving defective wipers.
A 2002 report of GM's faulty wipers filed by the National Traffic Safety Administration found no "unreasonable risk to safety" because few accidents occurred as a result.
But an investigator did include in the report that "operation of a vehicle's windshield wiper system is critical to the safe operation of a vehicle," and said "the unreasonably high failure rate of the wiper modules on these vehicles is likely to eventually result in much more serious crashes."
The lawsuit asks a court to issue an order requiring GM to recall all vehicles that still need wiper repair and to reimburse repair costs. Anderson estimates thousands of people have spent money on wiper repairs that should have been GM's responsibility.
The suit also wants NHTSA to fine GM $1 million for inadequately reporting windshield wiper problems with their 2002 and 2003 model vehicles.
For more information on auto recalls and crashworthiness, contact us to confer with an auto crash attorney.
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