What’s Next For The Victims Of Defective GM and Chrysler Vehicles?

So if you have been following our coverage of the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies wiping out the rights of people injured or killed by defective vehicles (for a recap click here) you may be left wondering “so what now?”  Well, we may be down but we are not out.  Yesterday, CJ&D Executive Director Joanne Doroshow talked briefly on Fox Business about what is happening now for the victims of faulty GM and Chrysler vehicles.

As we mentioned before, H.R. 3088, The Jeremy Warriner Consumer Protection Act, has been introduced in Congress.  According to the bill’s chief sponsor, Representative Andre Carson (D-IN), the bill would “require the newly-restructured GM and Chrysler to carry liability insurance and force the carmakers to cover claims made against them for any defective products produced by their predecessor company.”

To help spread the word about this important legislation, Jeremy has started a letter-writing campaign to members of Congress asking them support of this bill.  His work and sample letter can be found on his personal blog Walking Spirit and on Facebook.

Also last week, consumer groups petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to warn car buyers considering buying any vehicle made by the “Old Chrysler” (of which there are approximately 30 million) that if they are harmed or injured by a defect in the vehicle they will have no legal rights against the company. 

Since Chrysler is not going to stand behind the cars and trucks they want to sell, seems pretty fair to insist they post the following on each vehicle:

WARNING

This vehicle was produced prior to the date when the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved.

If you buy this vehicle and are injured or killed, even if your injuries were caused by the manufacturer,  you or your survivors will not be able to recover your losses by taking action against the manufacturer.

If your passengers are injured or killed, even if their injuries were caused by the manufacturer, they and their survivors will not be able to recover their losses by taking action against the manufacturer.

This notice is required by the Federal Trade Commission. For more details, contact ______________  [toll free number at FTC with recording in English and Spanish that provides more details] or online at [link to FTC website with more information]

Comments

[Joe]

The H.R. 3088, The Jeremy Warriner Consumer Protection Act should be passed if we truly value justice.

[Josh]

This story is missing crucial information making it look like Chrysler doesnt care for its consumers. The reason for the "warning" label is because the assets of the company were all owned by the Bankrupcty at the time. Which means any claim would need to go through the court and not the actual company. In no way is the warning label to be interpereted to state the quality of the product.