Rhode Island Lawyer, David Slepkow

The most high profile recalls from this year have involved defective ignition switches on GM vehicles that have been linked to at least 13 deaths which, according to safety advocates and U.S. safety regulators, could have been avoided had GM done something about the problem earlier.

GM is also under investigation by Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – as well as several states — for its handling of the deadly ignition switch problems, which engineers first discovered in 2001 but which were not “detected” and addressed by GM until earlier this year. GM was also fined by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a record $35 million for its “delayed response” to the defective ignition switch issue.

The recalls have cost GM financially, with the auto manufacturing giant taking a $1.3 billion hit in the first quarter of this year, mostly related to the ignition switch recall, and it is doubling the charge it expects to take in the second quarter to about $400 million, mostly related to recalls. Tuesday’s recalls bring the total number of recalls to 29 for the year. Their stock continued to tumble Tuesday, falling 3.1 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

The financial losses to GM, however, pale in comparison when one considers the loss of those 13 lives and the crushing devastation that their families and friends have suffered, and will continue to suffer for many years to come.