Claims Deadline Extended in GM Ignition Death Cases

Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the GM faulty ignition-switch compensation fund, announced that, “out of an abundance of caution,” GM is extended the deadline to file claims under General Motors faulty ignition-switch compensation program. According to a CNBC article/interview, the program has approved compensation for 33 victims killed in GM cars with the faulty ignition switches to date. While notices of the program have been sent to approximately 6 million current and previous owners of eligible vehicles, as of November 14th received only 2,105 claims for deaths and serious injury. GM has admitted it was aware of the problem with the faulty ignition switches for at least a decade. An affected switch, when bumped by a drivers’ knee, can shut the vehicle’s power down and disable safety features such as airbags. GM finally began recalling the cars and SUVs in February 2014, making numerous additional recall actions throughout the year. The massive recall now stands at approximately 2.6 million vehicles.