One new death claim has been approved by a program that compensates victims of accidents caused by a faulty ignition switch in General Motors vehicles, boosting to 30 the total number of fatalities linked to the issue so far, according to a report on Monday.
Since it began accepting claims on Aug. 1, the program has received 1,580 claims for deaths and injuries, said the report from the office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was tapped by GM to run the program. The report listed all of the claims received and approved as of Friday. GM has been criticized for waiting 11 years to begin recalling millions of cars with ignition-switch problems that have been linked to fatalities. The defect led to the recall of 2.6 million vehicles earlier this year. So far, 61 claims have been deemed eligible for compensation, including 30 deaths and 31 injuries, the report showed. Overall, the receipt of claims for injuries and deaths in the latest week has slowed, with the number up almost 4 percent from 1,517 the previous week. That compares with an 11 percent jump the week before, the report showed.
IN-DEPTH
- GM's Top Attorney Stepping Down
- Family to Accept GM Ignition-Switch Compensation: Lawyer
- Two More Deaths Linked to Faulty GM Ignition Switches
-- Reuters
