General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), through its Ignition Compensation Claims Resolution Facility, have received 64 additional compensation claims as of Monday this week, according to Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer hired by GM to administer the facility. Latest data shows death claims related to GM’s faulty ignition switch rising to 251, while the number of injury claims totals 2075, bringing a total of 2326 claims to date. Injury claims counts 156 cases of catastrophic injuries and 1,919 less serious injuries that requires hospital stay.
According to General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), a report from Feinberg have determined 42 cases as eligible for death compensation claims, while 7 are eligible for serious injuries payments, and another 51 are deemed eligible for payments for other injuries. Feinberg, who was responsible for administering victims claims settlements after the 9/11 terror attack, as well as claims arising from the BP oil spill, was hired by GM to administer the Ignition Compensation Claims Resolution Facility and was given free rein to determine the eligibility of the claims. The company has allotted an initial $400 million for the facility, although it is estimated that costs could come as high as $600 million.
So far, it has been determined that 306 claims are eligible for payments, while 568 have no sufficient documentation to be considered eligible. 445 claims are still under scrutiny, while 907 claims were submitted without any documentation. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) said in a statement that the compensation program was established to reach out to every eligible claimant that has been impacted by the faulty ignition switch defect.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) have been harshly criticized by U.S. regulators for failing to implement the recalls of its defective vehicles as soon as it gained awareness of the problem, and was fined earlier in May this year maximum amount of $35 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company have knowledge of the faulty ignition switches for more than a decade but only initiated recalls in February this year. GM has set January 31 of next year as the final deadline for claimants to file compensation claims related to the faulty switch.
This article has been written by Nonito Guntan.
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