GM wins third ignition-switch case

HOUSTON — A Texas jury Thursday found that a Gene r a l Motors C o. i g ni t i o n switch was not to blame for a 2011 accident that killed one driver and injured another, handing the carmaker its third courtroom win this year in a series of trials designed to help attorneys settle dozens of similar claims.

The switches can slip out of the “on” position, causing the cars to stall, knocking out power steering and turning off air bags. GM says it has fixed the problem.

Zachary Stevens and his parents had sued GM, claiming the deactivation of an ignition switch while he was driving his Saturn Sky caused him to lose control of the car and hit another vehicle, killing its driver. Stevens’ attorneys said he suffered a traumatic brain injury and a skull fracture in the accident.

At t o r neys f o r GM t o l d jurors that the accident was caused by Stevens’ reckless speeding on a rain-slick road.

Stevens was charged with manslaughter, but a grand jury declined to indict him and the charges were eventually dropped after GM began its recall related to the ignition switch.

In 2014, GM recalled 2.6 mil l i o n o l d e r s mall c a r s worldwide, including the Sky, to replace the fault y switches. GM also reviewed a backlog of safet y prob - lems and ordered a record 84 recalls that year covering more than 30 million vehicles, including 27 million in the U.S.

GM won two other ignition cases that were tried earlier this year.

In January, a trial in New York ended abruptly after the judge raised questions about the plaintiff ’s truthfulness. In March, a New York jury found that an ignition switch was not to blame in a 2014 accident on an icy New Orleans bridge.

I n S e p t e m b e r , G M announced it had settled 1,385 death and injury cases for $275 million.