Press Release – Beasley Allen joining with The Cooper Firm on GM products liability claims

News Release

Beasley Allen joining with The Cooper Firm on GM products liability claims

May 5, 2014

Beasley Allen law firm will work with The Cooper Firm, based in Atlanta, Ga., to handle products liability claims related to General Motors (GM) vehicles with defective ignition switches

MONTGOMERY, ALA. (May 5, 2014) – Montgomery, Ala.-based law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., is joining with Lance Cooper and The Cooper Firm, an Atlanta-area firm, to handle product liability claims against General Motors (GM). Lance Cooper, the lawyer who first discovered GM’s ignition switch defect, uncovered the automaker’s massive cover-up, which led to massive recalls. The two firms have a history of being highly successful in product liability litigation. Beasley Allen was heavily involved in the Toyota sudden acceleration litigation and tried the lawsuit in Oklahoma that caused the Japanese automaker to change its litigation strategy and start settling cases. The two firms will represent victims in cases involving personal injury or death caused by the ignition switch defect.

Jere Beasley, the founding shareholder at Beasley Allen, stated, “We look forward to working with Lance Cooper in the General Motors litigation. We believe that by joining forces in this manner we can help GM’s victims take on the powerful automaker. General Motors has betrayed the American people, hid a deadly vehicle defect for more than 10 years causing numerous deaths of innocent victims. The company must now be held accountable for its wrongdoing.”

Lance Cooper, founder of The Cooper Firm, added, “I am excited about the opportunity to work with the Beasley Allen firm on these GM cases. This is a strategic partnership that will not only benefit our clients, but will allow us to continue in our efforts to get at the truth of what GM knew and when they knew it, so that the American public gets answers to their questions.”

Beasley Allen and The Cooper Firm have filed lawsuits related to the ignition switch defect that allows the key to unintentionally slip from the “run” to “off” or “accessory” position while the vehicle is being operated.  The ignition defect causes the sudden loss of engine power, braking and steering, creating a hazardous emergency situation. The air bag system is also disabled and rendered useless.

GM recalled about 780,000 2005-07 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 vehicles on Feb. 13. Twelve days later, it expanded the recall to include an additional 590,000 model-year 2003-07 Saturn Ion, Chevy HHR, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky vehicles. The total number of recalled vehicles now numbers about 2.6 million related to the defect. Court documents and other evidence reveal that GM knew about the ignition switch problem as early as 2001. However, GM rejected several design changes and solutions that were recommended by its own engineers on numerous occasions because of the cost and the time it would take to make the changes. The company says it has linked 31 crashes and 13 deaths to the faulty ignition switch, but a new study commissioned by the Center for Auto Safety indicates the death toll could exceed 300.

About Beasley Allen Law Firm

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley Allen is comprised of more than 70 attorneys and 200 support staff. Beasley Allen is a national leader in civil litigation, with verdicts and settlements in excess of $22 billion. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.beasleyallen.com.

About The Cooper Firm

Lance Cooper founded The Cooper Firm in 2006. With experience in substantial personal injury and wrongful death cases, he has represented plaintiffs in numerous civil jury trials and has successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases and gained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. For more information, visit www.thecooperfirm.com.

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