Chapmanville man sues GM for defective vehicle

CHARLESTON -- A Chapmanville man is suing General Motors after he was injured when the airbags did not deploy in a vehicle he was driving.

On April 23, Clifford S. Adkins was driving a 2006 Pontiac G6, which was owned by his father, when he lost control and sustained a severe frontal impact with a metal drain pipe and other objects which exceeded the airbag system's predetermined deployment threshold, according to a complaint filed Oct. 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Adkins claims the front driver side airbag malfunctioned because it failed to deploy.

During the collision, the vehicle's sensor mechanism malfunctioned because it failed to trigger deployment of the airbag and failed to protect Adkins as it was designed to do, according to the suit.

Adkins claims as a result of the airbag failing to deploy and failure of the seat belt system to restrain him, his head struck the steering wheel and windshield of the vehicle and sustained injuries.

General Motors failed to adequately and properly test the vehicle and failed to ensure the vehicle's systems would protect its passengers in the event of a front-end collision, according to the suit.

Adkins is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by Robert B. Berthold Jr. and Robert B. Berthold III.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge James C. Stucky.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 11-C-1933