General Motors Ignition Switch death claims extended by another seven sad victims.

General Motors’ ignition-switch compensation fund approved another seven death claims associated with ignition switch defects in its cars in the past week, bringing the total to 97 deaths, the office administering GM’s compensation fund said.

GM originally said it knew of only 13 deaths linked to the defect.

The office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing victim compensation on the automaker’s behalf, also approved 16 more injury claims, raising the total to 179 approved injury claims as of May 1.

Of the 179 approved injury claims, 12 are for serious injuries resulting in quadriplegia, paraplegia, double amputation, permanent brain damage or pervasive burn. The other 167 claims are for less serious injuries requiring hospitalization or outpatient medical treatment within 48 hours of the accident.

The deadline for victims to file claims was Jan. 31.

After GM recalled 2.6 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches last year, the automaker hired Feinberg to administer the victims compensate program.

The defective switches can move from the “run” position, which cuts power to the power steering, brakes and airbags. 

A person seeking compensation must prove that the airbag did not deploy, and must show the defective switch was the primary cause of the crash.

Through Friday, GM had received 474 claims for deaths, 289 claims for catastrophic injuries and 3,579 claims for injuries requiring hospitalization. Feinberg’s office is still reviewing another 669 claims.

Hannah Lutz

Nora Naughton 

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USA - Auto Safety Watchdog Says 303 Deaths Related to GM Ignition Recall.

An issue that resulted in a General Motors recall may be responsible for up to 303 deaths, according to an automotive safety watchdog. The Center for Auto Safety said it referenced crash and fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatal Analysis Reporting System, according to a report in Reuters. The 303 deaths allegedly occurred when airbags failed to deploy in 1.6 million compact cars recalled by GM.

Those numbers are in stark contrast to the 12 deaths GM has reported in 34 crashes. In response to the watchdog's death toll claim, GM said the Center for Auto Safety created its report on "raw data," and added "without rigorous analysis, it is pure speculation to attempt to draw any meaningful conclusions." The faulty switch problem may shut off and deactivate the airbags while the car is in motion and traveling at high speeds.

Affected vehicles include the 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR, and 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky models. The U.S. automaker issued the recall in February, despite first learning about the faulty ignition switch in 2001. Clarence Ditlow, the center's executive director, believes action should have been taken long ago. 

"NHTSA could and should have initiated a defect investigation to determine why airbags were not deploying in Cobalts and Ions in increasing numbers." U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx promised an "aggressive investigation," and would look at whether GM was slow in reporting the faulty ignition problems to the federal government. The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan has opened a criminal probe, while House and Senate committees have pledged to hold hearings questioning GM and the NHTSA's handling of the situation. GM has said the investigation is "ongoing."

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USA - RECALL - GM to expand recall notice to nearly 1.4 million cars for ignition issues.

• Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Ion and Sky included
• Company Launches Process Review

General Motors is expanding the recall of certain 2003-2007 model year vehicles to correct a condition with the ignition switch that may allow the key to unintentionally move or switch to the “accessory” or “off” position, turning off the engine and most of the electrical components on the vehicle.

In addition to 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5 and Pontiac Pursuit sold in Canada only, GM is separately recalling 2003-2007 Saturn Ions, 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHRs, and 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky models. The affected U.S. vehicle population, including those vehicles recalled Feb. 13, totals 1,367,146.

This expanded vehicle population raises the number of reported incidents involving frontal crashes, in which the recall condition may have caused or contributed to the non-deployment of the frontal airbags, to 31 involving 13 front-seat fatalities.

As part of the recall, GM is taking steps to address customer concerns and working with its suppliers to increase parts production and accelerate availability.

GM will notify all affected customers that in addition to recalling their vehicles and performing repairs at no charge to them, GM and its dealers will work with customers on an individual, case-by-case basis to minimize inconvenience associated with the recall.

“Ensuring our customers’ safety is our first order of business,” said GM North America President Alan Batey. “We are deeply sorry and we are working to address this issue as quickly as we can.”

Going beyond required written notification, GM, through its customer care centers and social media teams, is using customer records and communications channels to notify affected customers of the recall and additional actions the company is willing to take to relieve their concerns and minimize inconvenience.

GM is recalling these vehicles because the ignition switch torque performance may not meet GM specifications. If the torque performance is not to specification, and the key ring is carrying added weight or the vehicle goes off road or experiences some other jarring event, the ignition switch may inadvertently be moved out of the “run” position.

The timing of the key movement out of the “run” position, relative to the activation of the sensing algorithm of the crash event, may result in the airbags not deploying, increasing the potential for occupant injury in certain kinds of crashes.

Dealers will replace the ignition switch to prevent the unintentional or inadvertent key movement.  Until this correction is performed, customers should use only the ignition key with nothing else on the key ring. As always, customers should drive responsibly and use their safety belts.

On Monday, the company submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a detailed chronology associated with its initial recall of the ignition switch torque performance condition in Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s and Pursuits. The chronology outlines events that happened during the time that elapsed between receiving the first field reports and issuing a recall.

“The chronology shows that the process employed to examine this phenomenon was not as robust as it should have been,” said Batey. “Today’s GM is committed to doing business differently and better. We will take an unflinching look at what happened and apply lessons learned here to improve going forward.”