News 8
Chrysler sheds liability in bankruptcy, GM doesn't 
12:37 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
DALLAS – A little more than a year after walking away from rollover wreck, Mary Margaret Rambo still searches for the right words.
"My husband was wronged,” she said. “What happed to him shouldn't have happened.”
Her husband, Michael Rambo, was 52.
He was a father, scout master and adventure traveler who is described as honest and honorable.
On the way home from a family camping trip in March 2008, they lost control of their ‘04 Jeep Cherokee and it flipped twice. Rambo said her husband's seatbelt failed, unlatching. Michael was ejected and killed.
Rambo sued Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, last year. But, when the automaker went into bankruptcy, all bets were off. Rambo and hundreds of others essentially had to line up like creditors.
Then, earlier this month, a bankruptcy judge declared that the new Chrysler will not be responsible for defects in existing vehicles made by the old Chrysler, even if the problems have yet to be discovered.
"They are cheating the system and they're getting a free walk," Rambo said.
"Here's the deal with Chrysler,” said Todd Tracy, Rambo’s attorney, “It's playing Russian roulette because you're driving around in a vehicle right now; you haven't even had an accident yet. If you do have an accident and you're doing nothing wrong and you're rendered a quadriplegic or a paraplegic, you have no legal recourse to go against Chrysler.”
GM has agreed to be responsible for future accidents when it emerges from bankruptcy. But, Tuesday, a judge will decide what happens to the lawsuits currently pending against GM.
In an attempt to try and hold someone accountable for her husband's death, Rambo is now going after the seatbelt manufacturer, her attorney said.
