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Panel Finds More Deaths Than GM Said

Ignition-switch payouts begin.

An independent compensation fund has determined more people died from faulty ignition switches in General Motors vehicles than the automaker had publicly stated. In its first six weeks of operation, the fund has approved claims for 19 fatalities. To date, GM has stated that only 13 deaths were related to the faulty switches that turned off engines on their own. Ken Feinberg is overseeing the fund, which has approved several other claims related to injuries. “When we announced the compensation program, we said the number of eligible individuals may not be limited to 13 deaths and that Ken Feinberg would determine the final number,” said GM spokesman Dave Roman. “What is most important is that we are doing the right thing for those who lost loved ones and for those who suffered physical injury.”