(Bloomberg) – General Motors Co. failed to designate a flawed ignition switch linked to multiple deaths and injuries as a safety concern, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra told jurors at a Texas trial.

GM engineers in 2004 and 2005 "misdiagnosed it as a customer satisfaction issue and not a safety issue," Barra said in a video deposition given last year and played at trial Monday by lawyers for the plaintiff.

"A series of mistakes were made over a period of time that caused the ignition-switch defect,'' Barra testified. "This had tragic consequences.''

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