It's the end of the road for many GM and Chrysler lawsuits

GM spokesman Greg Martin added that claims related to vehicles sold before the bankruptcy "will stay with the 'old GM' " and be dealt with along with other unsecured claims. Under the bankruptcy plan, the "new GM" will take the company's best factories and manufacture cars, while the "old GM" will liquidate the company's remaining assets and pay off debts at pennies on the dollar.

For people who allege they were injured by defective cars, that's a grim prospect. Susana Villa Garibay, a mother of four who lives in Lincoln Heights, was left a paraplegic when her car seat ejected after her 1995 GM van was hit from behind, according to her attorney. She cannot sue the new GM because the accident occurred May 4. GM filed for bankruptcy June 1.

"She needs help. She was working three jobs," said her lawyer, Douglas Shaffer. "There was inadequate insurance on the vehicle that hit her, so she is literally left without recourse because of this bankruptcy."

Christine Spagnoli, president of Consumer Attorneys of California, said Chrysler agreed to replace defective parts in existing cars that are sold after the bankruptcy ended.

But it will carry no liability for deaths and injuries that might occur as a result of those defects.

"They are taking care of parts, but they aren't taking care of people," she said.

With an estimated 80 million GM and Chrysler vehicles on the road, 3,400 Americans will be killed or injured in accidents involving alleged defects in their cars in the next year, predicted Sean Kane, head of Safety Research & Strategies Inc. Kane based that forecast on data both automakers provided to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on previous accidents.

Of equal concern, added Kane, is the expected break in the flow of death and injury statistics to the NHTSA -- information that the federal agency monitors to spot defects that lead to recalls.

"If the claims aren't filed, we lose an important defect surveillance tool," Kane said. "And if the companies bear no liability for deaths and injuries caused by the uncorrected defects, what incentive do they have to recall?"

Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) has introduced a bill in Congress that would require the post-bankruptcy carmakers to cover all current and future claims over defective vehicles made by their forerunners.