Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP Reports Wrongly Convicted Mom Sues To Reopen GM Defect Case

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GM always knew Candice Anderson's 2004 Ion caused the accident in which she was severely injured and her boyfriend, Mikale Erickson, was killed. Yet, the company watched silently as Candice, still recovering from her life threatening injuries, was indicted and prosecuted for a State felony jail time offense. Despite knowing the defective vehicle was at fault, GM aggressively defended the civil law suit brought by Mikale's two young children, his mom and Candice. In Court documents GM placed 100% of the blame on a 21 year old innocent girl and ended up paying $75,000.00 to settle the entire case.

Today, Texas lawyer Bob Hilliard, one of the nation's key players in pursuing claims against General Motors for deaths and injuries caused by faulty ignition switches, filed a lawsuit to reopen the settlement and accused GM of fraud in the underlying litigation. The suit is filed on behalf of the mother of, and the two young girls of Gene Mikale Erickson who was killed in a 2004 accident caused by the defective switch.  He is also suing on behalf of the driver of the malfunctioning GM vehicle, Candice Anderson, who agonized for years about the accident, believing that she was at fault.

THE ACCIDENT
On the day of the accident, the driver of the GM Saturn Ion, Candice Anderson, was negotiating a slight curve in the road in rural Texas, when the car left the road and smashed into a tree.  Ms. Anderson and her passenger, Mikale Erickson, were not discovered until an hour later.  Candice suffered multiple injuries, including broken bones, and Mikale died.

FALSELY ACCUSED, TORTURED BY GUILT
At the time of the accident, GM knew of the faulty ignition, but was keeping the problem quiet.  Therefore, law enforcement officers at the scene assumed Ms. Anderson was at fault because no "evasive action" skid marks were evident.  They had no way of knowing that the ignition switch had failed, rendering brakes, steering and airbags inoperable. 

VINDICATION
Sadly, Ms. Anderson also believed she was at fault.  She pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide and spent years wracked with guilt about Mr. Erickson's death.  Last week, Mikale Erickson's mother, Rhonda, received confirmation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the accident was caused by GM's faulty ignition switch, not Candice Anderson's negligence.  For the first time in ten years, Ms. Anderson's burden of guilt has been lifted.  Now, she and Rhonda Erickson are seeking justice from General Motors.

JUSTICE PURSUED
Bob Hilliard is representing Candice Anderson, Rhonda Erickson and Mikale's two young daughters, Siara and Savana, in a federal suit against GM.  The Texas attorney is also representing the families of Amy Radermaker, Seyde Chansuthus and Amber Marie Rose, all victims in fatal accidents caused by GM's faulty ignition and their corporate cover-up of the deadly defect.  Hilliard's firm, Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP, is pursuing justice on behalf of 13 victims of GM accidents.

"Mike Erickson died because of GM. His young daughters lost a dad, his mom lost her only son and Candice lost the love of her life. 

GM knew, from day one, that it was responsible for Mike's death, not Candice. 

Yet, even though GM knew Candice was innocent, it said nothing and watched her be indicted, watched as she was forced to plead guilty to a crime she did not commit. 

All GM had to do was speak up. Tell the truth. GM had already taken one life, but it could have saved another. Instead, it kept the truth locked up in its filing cabinet in Detroit—and aggressively blamed Candice for this accident. 

What kind of company would take the life of this young man, and then let his girlfriend take the blame and be prosecuted for a Sate felony jail time offense?

Recently, I gave GM an opportunity to voluntarily set the settlement aside. A settlement it gained only through corruption, deceit, and direct misrepresentations.  GM refused. It instead will try and enforce an unconscionable agreement. 

Given how calculated and willing this company was to end hundreds of  lives, to sneer at grieving loved ones and to allow an innocent young woman  to even go to jail, its time to ask the the question:

GM reflects the worst of publically traded, profits-at-all-costs corporate culture. It is the complete perversion of a billion dollar power. GM destroyed lives, futures and families---now, we listen to Ms. Barra's contrite tones while in secret she still instructs her lawyers to continue their baseless fight against the victims. To refuse to agree and set Candice Anderson's settlement aside, GM confirms it only masquerades as a company reformed.

Does GM deserve to forgiveness? Does GM deserve leniency? Does GM even deserve to survive?

How do you place a value on what GM did to this young woman?"

ABOUT HMG  http://www.hmglawfirm.com/
Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP (HMG) specializes in mass torts, personal injury, product liability, commercial and business litigation, and wrongful death. Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP has been successfully representing clients in the United States and Mexico since 1986. Bob Hilliard obtained the Largest Verdict in the country in 2012 and the #1 verdict in Texas in 2013.

HMG is actively seeking to represent other victims of GM's defective vehicles.

To arrange an interview with Bob Hilliard, please contact
Lauren Gomez
[email protected]
361-960-3146

SOURCE Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP