http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/business/death-toll-linked-to-gm-defect-reaches-27.html 2014-10-13 19:35:24 Death Toll Linked to G.M. Defect Reaches 27 The number of claims deemed eligible for compensation has more than doubled since the automaker began recalling cars with faulty ignitions. === The death toll linked to Twenty-seven wrongful death claims filed to the company’s victim compensation program have been deemed eligible for payment, according to a weekly update posted on G.M. has given Kenneth R. Feinberg, the victim compensation expert who is running the company’s payment program, sole discretion to determine the number of eligible claims for deaths and injuries associated with the faulty switch — a flaw that can cause power to cut out in a moving car, disabling air bags, power steering and power brakes. This year, G.M. has recalled 2.6 million cars that could have the faulty switchdefect, more than a decade after engineers inside the company first spotted a problem. As of Friday, the Feinberg program had received a total of 1,371 claims, 178 of them for wrongful deaths, and had accepted a total of 52 claims for payment. Many of the others are still under review, awaiting further evidence. Some have been rejected, though the fund did not report how many.