Just a few weeks after GM released its internal audit over the now infamous ignition-switch defect, the company has announced the details of its settlement fund for those affected. Crash victims and their families hurt by defective ignition switches that General Motors installed or repaired in 2.6 million recalled cars will see the first checks as early as November. The settlement fund starts taking claims August 1, 2014, and it has no payout cap.
Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer retained by GM since April who has managed settlements for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and the BP oil spill, will have complete discretion—and GM won't be allowed to dispute any approved claims. As with his other settlements, the payouts will be quick, proportional, and relatively emotionless.
- GM Recalls: Everything You Need to Know
- Malibu in the Middle: 2014 Chevrolet Malibu 2.5 Tested
- GM Internal Ignition-Switch Audit: One Big Ugly Mess
Here are the key takeaways from the proposed settlements:
- Any crash involving the affected cars where the airbags did not deploy, even side airbags, are eligible for compensation. That means anyone who experienced stalls but were lucky enough to not crash or die won't get a penny. Pending class-action and individual lawsuits are still taking that side in court, and GM is trying to shield itself from those cases with a special clause written into its 2009 government-funded bankruptcy.
- Payouts will take up to 90 days for cut-and-dry claims and up to 180 days for more complicated cases. None will be accepted after December 31, 2014, which ensures that this won't continue on forever and ever.
- Evidence, in the form of event data recorders, police reports, photos, and anything else accident-related will be required, but since these crashes go back as far as a decade ago, not every duck needs to be in order, Feinberg says.
- Established averages and all the actuarial equations used by insurance companies will be used here. That means rating economic losses due to income, income potential, age, location, kids, medical bills, and so forth. This is entirely a case-by-case basis and will not become public.
- Non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering, will be capped for families of dead victims at $1 million each, plus $300,000 for a spouse and each dependent. For injured victims with short hospital stays up to 32 nights, their combined economic and non-economic losses will be capped between $20,000 and $500,000 each. Those with serious injuries, such as brain damage or loss of limbs, will be evaluated separately.
- Anyone who waived their rights in a previous GM settlement can apply, although that settlement will be deducted from any new awarded amount.
The full text of Feinberg's settlement plan can be found here. GM has not estimated any cost for this fund, but you can bet it won't be cheap.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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