A lawsuit filed on behalf of a woman who died last year pins the blame on an ignition switch defect that was the subject of General Motors Co.’s recent recalls.

Aubrey Williams, 32, was killed in a Dec. 4 accident after visiting her child’s school, said Jere Beasley, founding shareholder at Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles in Montgomery, Ala., who filed the suit on Monday in Lauderdale County, Ala., Circuit Court.