Caving under pressure from a dozen state attorneys general, GM agreed to assume responsibility for product liability claims filed after it emerges from bankruptcy as a new company, even those claims involving vehicles made by the old company.

Courts typically allow companies under bankruptcy protection to leave claims behind in bankruptcy and emerge with a clean slate, a precedent G.M. and the government were relying upon, the New York Times reported. Chrysler, which completed a government-backed restructuring this month, left both product liability claims and unwanted dealers with its old estate, now known as Old CarCo.

As we reported last week, concern had been expressed by at least one safety expert that an absence of liability claims would have a chilling effect on recalls because the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration uses death and injury data to scan for defect trends. "If the claims aren't filed, we lose an important defect surveillance tool," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies.

The modification, outlined in court papers filed by GM late Friday, is a partial victory for consumer groups and attorneys general, the Washington Post reported. "Congress still needs to step in and do something for Chrysler victims," Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy told the Post. "That bankruptcy is over. The only way for victims to get help is if there's a law that establishes it."