NEW YORK - General Motors (IW 500/5) (GM) has raised its ignition-switch death toll as compensation claims flood into the automaker following its long-delayed recall of millions of flawed cars.
As of October 3, the number of people killed in crashes because of the defective ignition switches was 24, said Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney in charge of the independent compensation fund set up by GM.
His claims update, viewed online Tuesday, showed the program had received 1,130 claims, including 165 for deaths.
Of the total, 40 claims were determined eligible for compensation to date, including the 24 fatalities.
It was the fourth time the largest U.S. automaker has raised the death toll as it deals with the ignition-switch scandal that has tarnished its safety reputation.
The company waited nearly 11 years before beginning to recall 2.6 million cars, in February, after hundreds of possible accidents and deaths were reported.
Until late August GM had acknowledged 13 deaths from crashes related to the problem, in which the faulty ignition could turn off power to a car's power steering and safety airbags while it is in motion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
