GM Raises Death Count Linked to Ignition Switches to 21

The General Motors Co. program to compensate victims of its faulty ignition switches has accepted 21 claims related to traffic deaths attributed to the failures.

Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg reported the new numbers for the period through Sept. 21. He heads the program, which on Aug. 1 began accepting claims of injuries and fatalities blamed on the switches. The devices can be jolted out of the "run" position by a bump in the road, shutting off the engine and disabling the airbags.

GM initially attributed 13 fatalities to the defect. Feinberg raised the total to 19 a week ago by accepting six more fatality claims out of 143 filed to date. The compensation program will continue to accept applications through the end of this year.

Feinberg said earlier this year that claims would automatically be rejected if they failed to show the ignition switch was not in the run position when the crash occurred. His office says it is evaluating several applications and awaiting further information about others.