Attorney Agostinho Ribeiro, CEO of Fairfield County-based Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith, found an ally and an antagonist recently in his firm”™s stand in the ongoing GM recall story.
Ribeiro has assembled a national team of attorneys to represent victims in the national GM recall, including Missouri”™s Daniel DeFeo, a specialist in automotive litigation, and Louisiana”™s Ronnie Penton, a lead attorney in the BP oil spill case.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., recently called on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to force GM to take further action to protect the 2.6 million consumers affected by the ignition switch recall announced earlier this year, including urging GM to warn owners to stop driving the recalled cars until they can be repaired.
In a written response, however, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx opposed Blumenthal”™s request, saying, “The NHTSA is satisfied that for now, until the permanent remedy is applied, the safety risk posed by the defect in affected vehicles is sufficiently mitigated by GM’s recommended action.”
The recommended action Foxx is referring to consists of GM informing owners to remove extra keys or devices from their key rings until the defective ignition switch can be replaced, according to Ribeiro, whose firm maintains four offices in Connecticut and one in New York City.
Said Ribeiro, “For GM to tell owners that it”™s safe to continue driving these vehicles, despite knowing they can suddenly shut off while traveling at highway speeds, is to blatantly disregard basic standards of consumer safety.”
