UPDATE: GM Ignition-Switch Fund Declares Itself a Success

The compensation fund set up by General Motors Co. for victims of its defective ignition switches says 100% of claimants who have been offered a settlement to date have accepted it.

The fund, which is headed by compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg, began accepting applications last August and stopped on Jan. 31. But Feinberg says the group will continue to process claims for several months.

The fund has so far ruled 128 claims eligible for compensation, including 51 involving a fatality, out of 4,180 received. Another 965 applications are still under review. The fund is awaiting further evidence to clarify the eligibility of 2,605 additional claims, more than half of which were submitted with no documentation. The fund has specifically rejected 482 applications as ineligible.

GM faces at least 150 other lawsuits linked to the switches, which can be jostled into shutting off the engine along with the vehicle's power steering, power brakes and airbags. Most of the other cases claim loss of value caused by the company's belated recall last February of 2.6 million cars to replace the switches.