New Chrysler Will Accept Liability Claims, But Not All
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The New Chrysler has reversed itself.
After filing for bankruptcy and then emerging fresh from a sale to Fiat, the "New Chrysler" said it would refuse to accept any product liability lawsuits resulting from the 30 million vehicles still on the road.
But in a sudden reversal, the automaker now says it will cover liability claims from faulty roofs, seat belts, air bags, or latches, among other product defects, that occured after June 10 of this this year or will occur in the future.
That is bad news for Jeremy Warriner. He is one of about 300 or so claims that were pending before Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy that will not be covered. Warriner was close to settling his case when the company went bankrupt. Now he and the others must fight over whatever assets are left from the Old Chrysler, a bankrupt company.
Warriner's legs were badly burned and had to be amputated after an explosion occured around a plastic Chrysler part that had previously been made of metal.
You can read about his case and others, essentially thrown under the bus, in a special report prepared by the Center for Justice & Democracy – Victim Cases Wiped Out.
Chrysler is known to have a number of defects. Collapsing seat backs exist in in over 10 million vehicles from model year 1990 to 2009. In that case, during a rear collision, even a minor one, the front seat bends backward into the rear seat, potentially injuring the person or child there.
Rear tailgate latches failed and resulted in the deaths of about 40, mostly children. Only half of those minivans were fixed.
Since 1994, Chrysler has produced over two million Grand Cherokee SUVs with roofs that tend to buckle or cave in, resulting in traumatic head injuries and paralysis.
Chrysler did the right thing to cover future product liability lawsuits, but what about those people who are left to fight among others for scraps from a bankrupt company? Guess what, you and I pay for them, through Medicare and Medicaid, many for a lifetime of injuries.
It was federal tax dollars that helped the company emerge from bankrukptcy. Some of those injured people likely paid the taxes the company used. Talk about adding insult to injury. #