The General Motors compensation fund has so far approved 19 claims for fatalities that are caused by the embattled car company's faulty ignition switches.
The new death toll of 19 that is linked to the defective ignition switches is an increase over the 13 fatalities that the company has been estimating for months, though GM did say that the number could be higher.
Kenneth Feinberg, the compensation expert that GM hired to manage its compensation fund, determined the 19 claims for wrongful death that are eligible to be paid by GM, adding that there could be more.
Feinberg had previously said that GM had set no limit to the total amount that the compensation fund can pay to eligible claimants, which will be a crucial factor as lawmakers have estimated that the fatalities that can be linked to the ignition switch issue is near 100.
Feinberg has received 125 claims for wrongful death related to the defective ignition switches that can be found in the older-model small cars of the company, including the Chevrolet Cobalt. Feinberg is not finished in analyzing all the claims, with the rest either still being reviewed or are requiring additional documentation from the families of the victims.
Feinberg has received 320 compensation claims for injuries, with 12 already deemed eligible to be paid by the compensation fund. Included in the claims are 58 in the most serious injuries category, with victims looking to be compensated for injuries that resulted in the loss of limb usage, amputation, pervasive burns or permanent brain damage.
"The public report is simply reporting on those eligible to date," wrote Camille Biros, a spokeswoman for Feinberg, in an e-mail. "There will certainly be others."
Due to confidentiality agreements, Biros said that Feinberg will not name the families that were found eligible for compensations, nor will he confirm if the 19 claimants already include the 13 fatalities that GM has reported.
Biros added that of the 125 fatality claims received, none have so far been rejected, though some are in the process of being turned down due to the failure to meet the requirements to receive compensations.
Feinberg will be releasing reports every Monday to update the number of claims granted, Biros said.
GM admitted that it had knowledge of the defective ignition switches for over a decade, but did not issue recall orders for the switches found in almost 3 million small cars until early this year.
The defective ignition switches are prone to slipping out of the "run" position in to the "off" or "accessory" positions, which would cut off power to the vehicle's engine. This would result in loss of brakes or power steering, along with disabling the car's air bags if involved in a crash.
