autoevolution
 

GM Approved Compensation for 19 Death Claims

Chevrolet ignition key 1 photo
Photo: GM
Many of you are already aware of the infamous General Motors recall saga. Out of all recalled vehicles, the most notorious are the ones that suffer from glitchy ignition switches, a defect that was related to more than a dozen deaths up to now.
For that, GM has prepared a special compensation fund for the families of those that lost their lives in such accidents. Kenneth Feinberg, the man that took care of compensation for the 9/11 terrorist attack victims, administrates the compensation program that has received more than 300 applications up to this point, with 125 citing fatalities.

58 applications have been filed for serious injuries, while 262 filings cite minor injuries related to the ignition switch problem. Out of all the aforementioned, General Motors has approved 19 death claims, which is 6 cases more than GM's in-house estimate.

In addition to these, the American automaker is also facing hundreds of lawsuits nationwide because plaintiffs are still waiting for courts to decide on the automaker's bankruptcy liability shield before submitting claims through General Motors' own compensation fund. It is estimated that GM will spend anything between $400 to $600 million to cover injury or death claims approved by the bigwigs.

General Motors is offering at least $1 million to families of those who lost their lives in accidents related to the glitchy switches. In addition to that, mourning families will be offered a sum of money determined by the victims' earning potential and another $300,000 for every surviving spouse and dependent.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories