Pisanchyn Law Firm Fights for Justice Against GM
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
Published: April 28, 2016
Joan Occulto always suspected a mechanical problem caused the 2007 car crash that killed her grandson, but no one believed her.
The pain of losing Louis McHale, 30, was torture enough for the Dunmore grandmother. He left behind three young sons.
Her pain worsened from the innuendoes and rumors that the crash was her grandson’s fault.
It took nearly eight years, but Mrs. Occulto, 75, said her grandson
finally is vindicated as GM agreed Tuesday to approve a claim she and
her husband, Frank, 83, filed. Their claim alleged a faulty ignition
switch, that unexpectedly shut off his car, impaired the steering and
forced him to lose control, caused the crash.
The settlement, negotiated by attorney Michael Pisanchyn of Scranton,
comes from a fund GM set up to compensate victims of the defective
switch. Terms of the settlement are confidential, but public documents
related to the claims process reveal family members will be paid at
least $1 million in damages, plus $300,000 for each dependent. That
equates to at least $1.9 million for Mr. McHale’s family.
While the money certainly will help the family, it’s not what motivated Mrs. Occulto to pursue the case.
“The money means nothing to me. It can’t bring my grandson back,” she
said. “I wanted to clear his name. … It was General Motors’ fault. They
took my grandson away from his sons.”
The settlement is among at least three GM reached involving
Lackawanna County families in the past two years. In October 2014, GM
settled a case filed by Leo and Mary Theresa Ruddy, whose daughter,
Kelly Erin Ruddy, was killed in 2010. In June 2105, it settled a case
filed by Richard and Laura Miller over the 2014 death of their son,
James Miller. Both of those lawsuits were filed by attorney Larry Moran
of Lenahan and Dempsey in Scranton.
The claims were among more than 4,000 filed that sought compensation
from a special fund GM set up in June 2014 to compensate victims. The
fund paid out $594.5 million for 399 claims, including 124 deaths,
according to a final report issued in December by attorney Kenneth
Feinberg, who administered the fund.
GM acknowledged it knew about problems with the ignition switches in
several of its models for at least a decade before it began recalling
the vehicles in February 2014.
James Cain, a spokesman for GM, said the company’s settlement of
cases does not mean it admits that that the ignition switch failed or
was the cause of a particular crash. He noted that, in deciding whether
to approve a claim, Mr. Feinberg did not undertake any engineering
analysis or consider legal defenses GM had in the cases, including
statute of limitations and contributory negligence of the drivers.
“We faced the ignition switch issue with integrity, dignity and clear
determination to do the right thing both in the short and long term,”
Mr. Cain said in an email Thursday.
In Mr. McHale’s case, he was killed and his passenger, Audrey Evans
of Scranton, was injured after he lost control of his 2003 Saturn Ion on
Interstate 81 in Kline Twp. on Sept. 9, 2007. The car struck a rock
embankment and rolled twice, ejecting both occupants. Mr. McHale left
behind three sons, ages 6, 8 and 11 at the time of his death.
Mrs. Occulto said she contacted several law firms shortly after the
crash and asked them to look into the case, but all declined. She gave
up hope of ever proving a mechanical failure was to blame. Then she got a
recall notice at her Elm Street home in July 2014 regarding the
ignition switch.
“Then I knew something was wrong with the car,” she said.
Even with the new information, Mrs. Occulto said she still had trouble finding an attorney to take the case.
Mr. Pisanchyn said the case presented significant challenges,
including that the statute of limitations to sue had expired years ago.
Mr. McHale’s vehicle also was no longer available, so it would be hard
to prove the ignition switch caused the crash. He said he decided to
take the case because he strongly believed GM should be held
accountable.
“GM clearly knew there was a problem with the ignition switch. They
were getting reports of deaths quite often,” he said. “It came down to
they put corporate profits over peoples’ lives.”
Mr. Pisanchyn said GM initially rejected Mrs. Occulto’s claim. It
reconsidered the decision after attorney Douglas Yazinski consulted with
auto safety experts and obtained photos police took of Mr. McHale’s car
that showed the airbags did not deploy — a key indicator that the
ignition was in the “off” position when the crash occurred.
“The pictures really made a difference in our case. It put GM’s feet to the fire,” Mr. Pisanchyn said.
Mrs. Occulto said she’s thankful the case is resolved. For years, she
and her great-grandchildren dealt with rumors about the crash. It’s a
relief to have the truth out, she said, but she can’t help but feel
bitter toward GM.
“For a 35-cent part, my grandson died,” she said.
