General Motors’ ignition switch compensation fund overseen seen by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg has approved one more death claim, bringing the total number of deaths linked to the company’s faulty ignition switch to 30, Automotive News reports.
The program has now received 1,580 claims for deaths and injuries, up from 1,517 claims a week ago. Feinberg began accepting claims on Aug. 1 and will continue to accept new claims until Dec. 31. So far, 61 claims have been approved, including the 31 deaths and 30 injuries.
GM set aside $400 million from its earnings this year to set up the compensation program, which was put in place to compensate victims involved in crashes in cars with a faulty ignition switch. The automaker was fined $35 million by the department of transportation after it was discovered it failed to recall 2.59 million small cars for ignition switch-related problems.
Feinberg, who oversaw compensation programs for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York, is allowed to compensate victims as he deems necessary with no input from GM. He set in place a protocol in August, which indicated eligible death claims will receive a payout of $1 million or more depending on if the victim has a surviving spouse or dependents.
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