Nation's Top GM Recall Attorney Thomas J. Henry Comments on Failures of Valukas Report

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys, a national injury firm handling more than 1,100 GM recall cases across the U.S., believes GM's internal failures are far beyond what was represented in the "Valukas Report" released last week.

Last Thursday, former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas released the findings of his internal investigation into GM's handling of the ignition switch recall which has been linked to numerous accidents, injuries, and deaths over the last 10 years. His report faulted GM for its delayed handling of the recall but did not find any evidence of a cover-up on the part of the company.

"We believe there is way more hidden than what is outlined in this report," lead attorney Thomas J. Henry stated.

The Valukas Report  

The Valukas Report was written by Anton Valukas of the law firm Jenner & Block. Jenner & Block has extensive ties to GM; several Jenner & Block attorneys, including Valukas, have represented the company in the past.

Several news reports have speculated that the relationship between Valukas, Jenner & Block, and GM would prohibit Valukas from providing an "unvarnished" report regarding GM's failings in the ignition switch recall.[1][2]

"There is no way this report was unbiased. The very people hired to conduct the investigation have ties to GM and have a stake in the outcome of the inquiry," Thomas J. Henry stated.

"The cover page of the Valukas Report has an attorney client privilege disclaimer on it. Only a complete waiver of that privilege would help us to have a true understanding of who knew of these fatal defects and when they knew – from board members to the president, and all past and current executive officers."

During a press conference addressing the Valukas Report, GM CEO Mary Barra stated again that the company would be compensating victims and families affected by the recall.

"The biggest concern I have is GM deceiving victims who opt in for the Victim Compensation Fund, that's why we've been pushing for compensation concepts that make more sense for the individuals who were injured and the families who have lost loved ones in accidents involving recalled GM vehicles," Thomas J. Henry stated.

Crashes, Injuries, and Deaths Linked to Recall

General Motors originally linked 32 frontal crashes and 13 deaths to the defective ignition switches. On May 23^rd, the company increased the crash figure to 47[3]. Several news outlets speculate that there are many more fatalities that have not been accounted for.[4]

In March, the Center for Auto Safety linked 303 deaths to the recalled vehicles.[5] On June 3, Reuters released their own analysis of federal crash data, which found that 74 deaths were linked to the ignition switch defect.[6]

"From our own national investigation, we have found that the death toll from these vehicles is far beyond what GM has admitted to," Thomas J. Henry stated. "GM is skirting responsibility for these deaths just like they are skirting responsibility for delaying the recall and deceiving the American public."

About Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys

Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys is a national injury firm representing GM recall victims in nearly every state in the U.S. The firm is currently representing more than 1,100 people who died, family members who lost loved ones, serious injury victims, and others harmed by the GM ignition switch recall. 

One of the largest personal injury firms in the United States, Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys has been representing injured victims nationwide for more than 25 years.  The firm specializes in wrongful death, on the job injury, child injury, pharmaceutical litigation, product liability, catastrophic injury, and company vehicle and 18-wheeler accident cases.

The firm was recently recognized by the National Law Journal for having one of the Top 100 verdicts in the country in 2013 and by Texas Lawyer for having three of the top Texas verdicts for the year.  These cases involved work injuries and company vehicle accidents.  This comes on the heels of winning the number one back injury verdict in the country in 2012.

[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/autos-gm-recall-idUSL2N0M715B20140311
[2] http://ethixbase.com/internalinvestigationsblog/s6-blog/king-spalding-looks-conflicted-in-gm-probe.html
[3] http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140523/AUTO0103/305230117
[4] http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/03/news/companies/gm-recall-deaths/
[5] http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/14/news/companies/gm-recall-crash-deaths/
[6] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/03/us-gm-recall-idUSKBN0EE01920140603

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