GM victim fund approves 56 death claims

The General Motors ignition-switch victim fund has stopped accepting new applications, but the claim approvals have continued to slowly grow.
Administrators have 56 death claims, up from 51 at the beginning of the month. The total is now more than four times higher than GM’s own official count of 13 deaths.

The program has received a total of more than 4300 claims, including 478 applications associated with fatal accidents. The death tally will likely rise as 165 claims are still under review, while 184 have been deemed ineligible or deficient.

Each of the approved death claims is said to receive at least $1 million in compensation, depending on the circumstances and the individual. The company previously estimated that it would have to pay between $400 million and $600 million, however the payouts to date have only totaled less than $100 million.

Despite the deadline, some claimants still have an opportunity to provide more supporting documentation to be considered for approval.