GM recall came months after ignition switch order

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) placed an order for a half-million ignition switches about two months before the automaker told federal safety regulators it was recalling cars with the faulty switches, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Emails indicate an urgent order was placed in mid-December for 500,000 of the switches with supplier Delphi Automotive. It wasn’t until Feb. 7 that federal regulators were alerted of the problem.

The emails became public via attorney Robert C. Hilliard, who is leading a class-action suit against GM. The faulty part – which could cause a car to shut off while driving, disabling the airbag, antilock brakes and other safety features – is said by Hilliard to have caused up to 85 injuries and at least one death during the time between the parts were ordered and the recall was announced.

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