GM won't limit ignition switch crash compensation

Kenneth Feinberg is prepared to pay out billions of General Motors' money to victims of crashes in GM small cars provided they can prove the cars' ignition switches caused the crash.
GM links 13 deaths to a defective ignition switch in cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion. But trial lawyers and lawmakers say claims of wrongful death and injury could total in the hundreds.
Feinberg, the country's eminent compensation expert, said GM has placed no limit on the total amount he can pay to injured people or relatives of those killed. And he alone not GM will decide how much they each will get, even though he is being paid by the company.

In an interview before formally announcing the today, Feinberg wouldn't estimate the ultimate cost for GM, saying he has no idea how many death or injury claims he will get. Based on the methodology he plans to employ, a large amount of claims could mean a sum running into the hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.
"GM is committed under this program to paying whatever it takes to compensate all eligible claimants," he said. "There is no aggregate cap to this program."
With the plan, GM is trying to limit its legal liabilities, control the damage to its image and eventually move beyond the crisis caused by its failure to correct the ignition switch problem for more than a decade, even as it learned of fatal crashes. The company recalled 2.6 million older small cars earlier this year to replace the switches. Only those hurt in crashes caused by the small-car ignition switches are eligible, so the program excludes other GM safety problems. People filing claims will have to prove that the switches caused the crashes. Once their claim is settled, they give up their right to sue the company.

Claims can be filed from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, and Feinberg promises payment in 90 to 180 days in most cases. People who previously settled lawsuits with GM are eligible to apply for more compensation.
Legal experts say GM has almost no defences left in crash lawsuits because it admitted the switches are defective and that its employees were negligent in failing to recall the cars. A GM-funded probe by an outside attorney blamed the delays on a dysfunctional corporate culture and misconduct by some employees. The company has dismissed 15 workers in the case.