GM’s Ignition Switch Death Toll Rises to 74

GM announced yesterday that the death toll from their defective ignition switch has officially risen to 74. That’s seven higher than just last week, and is a number that will probably continue to rise.

In addition to the 74 confirmed deaths, GM has also confirmed 11 Category One victims (those that had physical injuries resulting in Quadriplegia, Paraplegia, Double Amputation, Permanent Brain Damage or Pervasive Burns), as well as 115 Category Two victims (physical Injuries requiring hospitalization).

GM is no longer accepting any more claims associated to the ignition switch cover-up, but they do still have over 1300 cases that are waiting for review.

Leading the GM compensation review is the office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg. Over the last few months, Feinberg and his associates have meticulously gone through every detail of the pending cases. In total, GM is expected to pay out between $400 million and $600 million in compensation.

In an interview with Value Walk, Feinberg discussed the difficulty of his job, saying, “People as you can understand get very emotional when you offer money in lieu of a death of a loved one or a physical injury… Money is a pretty poor solace I must say.”

We would have to agree with that. Too bad GM didn’t think of that when they could have fixed the ignition switch problem for a measly 57 cents per vehicle!!