LOS ANGELES – Following a national lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler, scores of Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 owners have shared accounts of near misses, injuries and crashes related to a gear shifter design defect affecting 811,000 vehicles and linked to driverless rollaway incidents, according to Hagens Berman, the firm representing owners of affected vehicles.

The lawsuit states that Fiat Chrysler fraudulently concealed and failed to remedy the defect. Owners have also reported that the automaker has inspected crashes related to the defect and has issued statements that it has no responsibility for repair or replacement, according to the firm.

“Since yesterday’s lawsuit was filed, Hagens Berman has received an astounding response to the case with scores of reports of near misses and actual injuries,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “It’s becoming clear to us that this problem is far larger than Chrysler has acknowledged. Cars equipped with this ZF monostable shifter are unsafe in any driveway.”

The firm announced that it will also be filing personal injury claims: “In response to these alarming and sad reports of injuries, we have been retained to file personal injury cases and will start doing so next week,” Berman added. “The facts of the cover up are so flagrantly wrong that we will seek punitive damages for these injured owners.”

WATCH: Steve Berman Pursues Personal Injury Claims Against Fiat Chrysler

Affected vehicles include: 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2012-2014 Chrysler 300 and 2012-2014 Dodge Charger. If you own or lease an affected vehicle, you may be entitled to compensation. Find out more about the lawsuit.

Jeep Owners Share Tales of Injuries, Crashes & Fiat Chrysler’s Response

According to Hagens Berman, Jeep Grand Cherokee owners have reported:

• “In July 2015, I thought I placed the Jeep in park. Upon exiting the vehicle, it rolled backwards (in reverse). I was able to jump back in the vehicle but not before my left foot was hit by the left front tire. I fractured my 4th metatarsal in my left foot.”
• “Our Jeep rolled away at our kids’ bus stop after my wife got out and thought the car was in park. It rolled about 100 yards down the street and into the woods. No injuries but damage to the vehicle is around $7000…filed a complaint with FCA. They sent out a special investigator and I just received a letter that says they have no responsibility for repair or replacement of the vehicle.”
• “The manner in which this gearshift operates has required a constant vigilant focus since buying the Jeep. Numerous times I have found the vehicle to be in neutral instead of drive after backing up and then trying to shift from reverse into drive…I now am stuck with it because nobody wants a car that killed a celebrity.”
• “…The trunk would not open so I told her to try the trunk open button inside the car. When she opened the door the car began to roll and went over the side of my front shoe. It pinched my little toe as she jumped in hitting her head to stop the car from going into the intersection. It happened to me two more times after.”
• “On a number of occasions we have experienced the rollaway issue after placing the car in park and getting out. Luckily, we were on level ground and was [sic] able to get back into the car to place it in park. I do not [have] confidence in the software patch… and regret making the purchase.”

About the Lawsuit

The lawsuit states that due to Fiat Chrysler’s concealment of both the shifter design defect and hundreds of accidents causing property damage and injury that might have been avoided, the “raft of negative publicity” upon disclosure has caused the value of affected vehicles to greatly diminish. “In light of the stigma attached to those vehicles by FCA’s conduct, they are now worth significantly less than they otherwise would be,” the suit states.

“Even more alarming is the fact that Fiat Chrysler’s slow response to correcting this defect is exactly the behavior for which it was fined more than $105 million by regulators just last year,” Berman added. “It then promised to put ‘safety first’ and work harder to recall and repair dangerous defects in a timely manner, but this case shows the fine was not enough. Fiat Chrysler continues to put profits ahead of customer safety. We will not let them get away with it.”

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the defect that has been responsible for at least 41 injuries has been in the headlines recently, following the death of actor Anton Yelchin, who was killed in his own driveway when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled down his driveway and pinned him against his brick mailbox.

Fiat Chrysler initiated a recall of 1.1 million cars worldwide equipped with the defectively designed shifter but has yet to provide any fix.

The lawsuit seeks recovery for vehicles owners’ losses including diminished vehicle value due to the design defect, as well as recoveries for other damages and an injunctive order to end Fiat Chrysler’s allegedly deceptive practices.

Learn more about the lawsuit and rollaway defect affecting Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger vehicles.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

Contacts
Ashley Klann
[email protected]
206-268-936