While General Motors initially said that 13 people directly died from an ignition switch defect in its vehicles, the victims’ compensation program has approved 27 payouts as of Oct. 10th for cases of death.
At least 151 other fatality claims are under review.
The faulty switches could be inadvertently shut off when jarred, cutting power to the engine and deactivating airbags. However, GM took too much time to issue a recall.
Last July, GM created a fund of $400 million to $600 million to pay victims and their families. There have been 1,371 claims so far, including 1,193 for non-fatal incidents.
Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer in charge of running the fund, plans to take applications through the end of the year. Most claims will be processed within 90 days, he said. It will take 180 days to work through more complicated cases.
Source : bloomberg.com