Lawsuit Filed Against General Motors on Behalf of Philadelphia Crash Victim for Defects in her Chevy Cobalt

PHILADELPHIA, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Shortly after General Motors CEO Mary Barra testified before Congress, Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. filed a lawsuit against the largest U.S. automaker on behalf of a Philadelphia woman who was driving a 2010 Chevy Cobalt when the ignition switch allegedly malfunctioned, causing the car to go out of control and hit a tree. As a result of the collision, she sustained a brain injury.

This is one of the first lawsuits filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas since the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for faulty ignition switches that can cause the vehicle to lose power. General Motors has determined this loss of power can also cause the airbags to fail to deploy during a vehicle accident.

According to the complaint, plaintiff Jacqueline Gilbert was driving in the northbound lane of State Route-11 in Southampton Township in May 2012 when her vehicle suddenly lost control, veered out of the lane and struck a tree. As a result of the collision, Ms. Gilbert suffered a traumatic brain injury that resulted in a 15-day coma, blood clots that required surgical removal, and dozens of fractures to her face, ribs and collarbone.

Engineers at General Motors have allegedly known about the ignition and airbag defects for more than a decade. In 2005, a company engineer experienced the defect while test driving a Chevy Cobalt.

"General Motors' failure to alert the public to this hazard caused Ms. Gilbert to suffer debilitating and painful injuries. This incident could and should have been avoided by an inexpensive solution. We are aiming to help prevent such unnecessary accidents from happening to others," said attorney Stewart J. Eisenberg of Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C.  Stewart J.  Eisenberg, Nancy J. Winkler, and Daniel J. Sherry, Jr. are the members of Ms. Gilbert's legal team.

The lawyers at Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C. are actively investigating potential claims against General Motors and others for the defects in their cars' ignition switches, power steering failures and airbags that fail to deploy. The firm has decades of experience handling auto defect and crashworthiness cases for clients throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and nationwide.

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SOURCE Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, PC