Crash victims’ kin drop GM suit

Associated Press

DETROIT

The families of two Wisconsin teenagers killed in a car crash involving a faulty General Motors ignition switch have dropped their lawsuit against the company and are seeking a settlement with the automaker.

The Oct. 24, 2006, crash that killed Natasha Weigel, who was 18, and Amy Rademaker, who was 15, was among the first attributed to the faulty switches, and evidence from the crash exposed how GM and federal regulators missed clues that could have prompted a recall of the cars as early as seven years ago.

Instead, GM failed to recall 2.6 million cars equipped with the switches until earlier this year.

Despite evidence that people within GM knew for years about a defect in the ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars, the families face tough going in court because of the legal protection GM has from liabilities incurred prior to its 2009 bankruptcy. The families and their attorney, Robert Hilliard, dropped the suit July 31, then filed a wrongful death claim with Kenneth Feinberg, the compensation expert hired to settle with victims on GM’s behalf.