GM – and a family's loss

Amanda Dinnigan, 10, is paralyzed and on a respirator after a car accident two years ago. Her parents were trying to sue GM for an alleged defective product.

Joe Johns | BIO
CNN Correspondent

This was one of those stories that sounds almost bland until you start putting in names and faces and conflict and drama. And then it hits you in the gut.

We did a "real impact" piece on the GM bankruptcy, focusing on a family out of Long Island that had had a horrible auto accident –now suing, or trying to sue, GM for an alleged defective product.

Amanda Dinnigan, just 10 years old, was riding in the third row seat of a GM SUV in 2007 with mom driving, when the vehicle slammed into a tree. Amanda had her seatbelt on... but instead of protecting her the way seatbelts are supposed to do, her parents say it snapped her spine.

Now Amanda is now paralyzed and breathes with help from a respirator. She has to be hoisted into and out of bed. And the parents are suing GM and other companies in the line of production because they allege that there was a flaw in the design of the seatbelt.

For a parent - and I'm a parent - the first thing you think is OMG.. OMG.. OMG. In an instant – just like that – you go from worrying about the everyday things that were part of the routine - whether it was just making it to school on time, or just having quality time together or when to take your kid shopping - to this:

Is my daughter going to live? Is she ever going to walk again? And how do I pay for these medical bills? Will have to sell my house? How do I get Medicaid payments to help cover the cost? It's enough to make you think twice when you climb in your car and strap on the seat belt - regardless of whether it's a GM vehicle.

But just to be clear here. the story is not about pointing fingers at GM – because there has been no trial. Theres been no finding of liability. All there is right now is a lawsuit.

The problem we present in the story is whether Amanda's parents ought to be able to make their case and recover damages if GM is found liable.

The way bankruptcy laws work–cases like Amanda's may go to the bottom of the list of priorities to be paid. That's because in a bankruptcy, the company is supposed to get a clean slate so that it can start over.

So when the government forced GM into bankruptcy - one of the families that may have already lost a lot may lose more, and is now asking how this is fair.