Regulation & Safety

GM ignition-switch death toll rises to 114

June 15, 2015 05:00 AM

General Motors’ faulty ignition switches are now linked to 114 deaths, three more than a week ago, the office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg said.

GM hired Feinberg last year to independently compensate the victims of crashes caused by the automaker’s defective ignition switches, which can be knocked out of the “run” position, cutting power to the engine and power steering.

GM originally said it only knew of 13 deaths linked to the switches, which prompted the recall of more than 2.6 million vehicles in 2014.

Feinberg’s office also approved nine more injury claims as of Friday.

Of the 229 approved injury claims, 13 are for serious or catastrophic injury and 216 are for minor injuries that required hospitalization or outpatient medical treatment within 48 hours of the accident.

The deadline to file claims was Jan. 31, and Feinberg’s office has said it expected to complete its review of all claims this summer.

Of the 4,342 total claims received by Feinberg’s office, 2,640 have been found ineligible, 109 are still under review and 35 have been submitted without documentation. Another 1,215 claims were found “deficient,” meaning the claimants still have the opportunity to support their claim with further documentation.

 

 

 

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