At least one product liability attorney has reported a client that had one of the recalled cars shut down with only one key in the switch.
General Motors ignition switch program has now ruled that 49 deaths, seven severe injuries and 65 other injuries are eligible for settlement offers. GM received 108 claims for compensation for ignition switch defects in the most recent report, bringing the total to 2,818, according to Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer handling the compensation program designed to head off litigation.
GM has 311 claims for death, 207 for catastrophic injuries and 2,300 for less-serious injuries requiring hospitalization. The number of claims found eligible for compensation rose to 121 from 112. So far, 320 claims are said to be ineligible, 857 are under review. Another 757 lacked sufficient paperwork or evidence and 763 had no documentation at all.
GM has reserved $400 million to cover the costs claims on behalf of people injured or killed because of the defective ignition switches that were part of a cover-up for more than a decade.
