GM Attorney Says 19 Deaths Linked to Defective Ignition Switch

General Motors says it received 445 claims to its ignition-switch compensation fund and so far 31 have been determined eligible for payment, including 19 individual deaths linked to the defective part.

According to an e-mail from attorney Kenneth Feinberg’s office, the total number of claims filed included 125 citing death, 58 claiming catastrophic injury and 262 alleging serious injury requiring a hospital stay. Twelve of the injury claims were determined eligible for compensation.

GM earlier linked the ignition-switch, which was installed on 2.6 million small cars and CUVs between 2003 and 2010, to 13 deaths and 54 crashes.

An investigation revealed the switch could inadvertently bump out of the “run” position, shutting off the vehicle’s electricity and disabling important safety equipment, such as the air bags.

The compensation fund will pay $1 million to each death claim, plus $300,000 for the surviving spouse and $300,000 for each additional dependent of the deceased. Victims injured in the crashes will receive between $20,000 and $500,000, depending on the severity of the injury.

The compensation fund began taking claim applications six weeks ago. It will continue taking claims until the end of the year.

Feinberg’s office says additional claims will be processed over the coming weeks, so the number of deaths and injuries linked to the ignition switch may rise. GM expects the claims to cost $400 million, but has acknowledged it could run as high as $600 million.

The scandal led to an internal investigation at the automaker and as a result 15 people were fired. Disciplinary action was taken against a number of others and GM restructured its engineering organization to focus more sharply on safety.

The event also led to broad recalls this year targeting nearly 30 million vehicles over 67 safety campaigns.

However, the claims confirmed today will not likely spell an end to the crisis. Many other victims are pursuing legal action against GM outside of the ignition-switch compensation fund and additional suits against the automaker seek payment for the loss of value on cars with the defect.

GM expects to repair all of the small cars and CUVs outfitted with the defective switch by the end of the month.

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