Death toll in GM case rises to 51

Associated Press

DETROIT

The families of 51 people who died in crashes caused by faulty ignition switches in small General Motors cars will get payments from a company fund, but others will have to wait months for decisions on thousands of new claims.

Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg also has deemed 77 people injured in crashes as eligible for payments from the fund, which received at least 4,180 claims by a Saturday deadline, including more than 1,100 in the past week.

But attorneys, lawmakers and at least one family member say some were forced to settle with Feinberg rather than run the risk that they would not be able to sue GM because of its 2009 bankruptcy agreement.

Camille Biros, deputy administrator of the fund who has worked with Feinberg to compensate victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the BP oil spill, said the last-minute flurry of activity is common in compensation cases. She said the number of claims could rise, because those filed by mail had to be postmarked by Jan. 31.

More death and injury claims are likely to be granted, Biros said, but it could take until late spring to sort through all of the paperwork.

GM was aware of faulty ignition switches on Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade, but it did not recall them until 2014. On 2.6 million GM vehicles worldwide, the switches can slip out of the “on” position, causing the cars to stall, knocking out power steering and turning off the air bags.

Plaintiff’s attorneys and some lawmakers have said the fund deadline should have been extended because victims do not know yet whether they can sue General Motors Co., the new company that emerged from bankruptcy protection in July 2009.

The bankruptcy agreement sends claims from pre-bankruptcy crashes to “Old GM,” which has few assets. Some lawyers are seeking to overturn that, claiming that GM deceived the bankruptcy court by hiding the switch defect. GM has asked the court to enforce the bankruptcy order, and a hearing is scheduled for later this week.