General Motors has reported that 13 deaths have resulted from faulty ignition switches found in more than 2.6 million cars recalled earlier this year, but authorities say the number is "likely" more than that.
In February, GM announced that it was recalling millions of its older models, including its Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and cars with model years between 2003 to 2010, due to a defective ignition that could shut off during driving, causing the failure of airbag deployment and the sudden loss of power steering and power brakes. GM has reportedly been aware of the defect since 2001.
"The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to NHTSA, but we believe it's likely that more than 13 lives were lost," says David Friedman, acting chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "GM would be in the position to determine additional cases related directly to this defect based on lawsuits, incident claims and additional data reported directly to the automaker from its customers, dealerships, insurance companies, safety groups and other sources."
GM dodged questions about the NHTSA's comment and said it is currently focusing on implementing repairs, although some executives have previously admitted the death toll may be more than the company currently acknowledges.
"To the best of our knowledge, there have been 13 fatalities that may be related to the ignition switch defect. That's after a thorough analysis of the information available to us. If we come across new information, of course, we will share it with the agency. We're totally focused on fixing all of the cars as quickly as we can," says GM spokesperson Jim Cain.
On Friday, GM announced that it has identified around a dozen more accidents linked to the faulty ignition switch, pushing up the number of injuries to 47, but the casualty count remains at 13. GM has not provided information about how it confirmed the deaths, nor has it publicly identified them, a move that has angered the families of those affected.
In March, the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety released a report saying it has identified 303 casualties resulting from airbags failing to deploy after the car's engine shut down. GM has responded by saying the watchdog group's data is "pure speculation" that was drawn up "without rigorous analysis.
Bob Hilliard, a lawyer from Corpus Christi, Texas, says he is representing the families of 63 people allegedly killed and 668 injured due to the ignition defect.
General Motors has recalled more than 13 million cars this year, a far cry from the 758,000 cars it recalled last year. Last week, the NHTSA ordered the company to pay a record-breaking $35 million fine for violating the law that requires companies to notify authorities within five days after discovering a safety defect.
