In the newest release of information from Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing the compensation handling for General Motors, the official death toll from the automaker’s faulty ignition switches has reached 52, according to the Associated Press.
That number is up one from last week, and as of this past Friday, the compensation fund has received 4,237 claims for deaths and injuries. The number should begin to stabilize as the last few postmarked claims arrive in the mail after the January 31st cutoff date to submit a claim.
Feinberg has also deemed 79 injury claims eligible for compensation, while another 501 were deemed ineligible largely because the make and model was not affected by the recall, or the airbags did deploy at the point of impact.
Another 1,446 claims lack sufficient information and documentation, but the compensation fund is allowing those senders to submit documentation to officially be reviewed. Those who submitted claims forfeit their right to sue General Motors in the event a claim is approved for compensation, and the compensation amount is accepted. As of now, no compensation amount has been rejected.
The compensation fund has 75-100 people working on reviewing claims as quickly and diligently as they can be, with the death toll expected to rise. Federal legislature currently sees the toll topping out near 100, but official numbers won’t be available until sometime this Summer as the final claims are reviewed.
General Motors has set aside $400 million for the compensation fund, but admitted it may spike to $600 million as more claims are approved. There is no cap, however, on how much GM will ultimately funnel into the compensation fund account.
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