The General Motors ignition-switch saga is officially nearing an end on the compensation front. The office of Kenneth Feinberg, which is overseeing the compensation fund privately, announced that three new death cases have been approved, with case reviews expected to be finished at the end of July. The 124 deaths are up from 121 last week.
The compensation fund also approved 15 new injury claims, none of which were life-threatening.
453 cases have been deemed “deficient,” meaning insufficient evidence has been attached with the claim. No final decision has been made on those cases, but The Detroit News reports they will receive one final evaluation. Of the 453 deficient claims, 24 are death claims, and 33 are for serious injuries.
In addition to announcing the claims process should be finished by the end of July, Camille Biros, the fund’s Deputy Administrator, said the fund has made 276 compensation offers. 205 have been accepted, while six were rejected. The rest awaits final decisions from the appropriate parties.
In the meantime, the U.S. Justice Department is readying its decision on whether General Motors will be charged criminally in delaying the recall of vehicles affected by the issue. The decision may seek a guilty plea, or a “deferred prosecution” agreement, with a fine of $1.2 billion. A decision by the DoJ is expected at the end of summer or fall.
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