If it wasn't for Volkswagen's Dieselgate Scandal, the General Motors ignition switch recall would have been the most talked about automotive recall in the early 21st century. Even though the ignition switch issue began back in 2014, GM has spent years settling with victims and their families who were fatally injured as a result of the faulty switches. After what is now four years of an ongoing criminal case, GM may finally be able to start to move forward. Reuters reports that a federal judge in New York dismissed a criminal case brought against GM back in 2015.

Since 2014, GM has recalled nearly 30 million vehicles worldwide, paid compensation for 124 deaths, and paid nearly $1 billion to the United States as a penalty. As part of the $900 million settlement with the US government, GM agreed to three years of oversight by an independent monitor. In total, GM has paid out over $2.6 billion in penalties and settlements, and it seems like the company has made strides to change its product safety structure so an incident like this never arises again.

Though GM is finally out of the woods in the criminal case, the automaker still has a few civil cases to wrap up. GM may finally be nearing the end of its punishment but the families of the victims will never be able to recoup what they've lost. The recall initially affected 800,000 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 models, but later expanded to include other modes like the Chevy HHR, as well as the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky twins. With ignition switches becoming a thing of the past in modern cars, we doubt that an issue like this will ever happen again.