General Motors Details The Compensation Fund For Victims Of Ignition Switch

This morning, General Motors and Kenneth Feinberg have announced the details for the long awaited ignition switch recall compensation fund.

The fund will be open to family members of anyone that was killed or injured due to ignition switch failure. That will include passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists that were killed or seriously injured because of the ignition switch. Victims will be able to begin the process starting on August 1st. Applications are due by December 31st. Feinberg says that claims will take around 90 to 180 days.

As for how much GM will be paying out, that is completely up in the air. Feinberg has said that he isn't going to try and estimate how much will paid due to how many variables there are. GM hasn't placed a cap on how much money will be paid out by the fund, which leads some attorneys to think the company could be paying out billions of dollars.

“GM understands. GM wants to do the right thing — and the right thing is paying people who can document their claims, and that’s a challenge. I would not dare estimate how many deaths or how many injuries until people file their claim and we evaluate the claim,” said Feinberg.

However, victims who apply will have to prove their accident was the cause of the ignition switch. Also if you apply for the fund, you lose your right to sue GM at a later date.

Source: Associated Press, The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.