When General Motors decided last spring to set up a program to pay victims of accidents caused by a defective ignition switch in more than two million cars, its chief executive said the company was trying to live up to its “civic duty.”þþBut the move was also an effort to keep victims and their families out of the courts and avoid long, expensive and image-damaging litigation. It was a gamble, but as the deadline for filing claims passed this weekend, it appears the effort is succeeding so far.þþKenneth R. Feinberg, the independent administrator of the program, has made 93 payment offers to date to people who were seriously injured and to families of those who died. So far, no one has turned him down.þþ“We have no rejected offers to date,” said Camille Biros, the deputy administrator of the program, in an interview on Monday.þþThe program, which is being independently run by the lawyer and victim compensation expert Kenneth R. Feinberg, center, had received 3,350 claims by Thursday evening.þþOver 62 million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S. in 2014, equivalent to one out of every five cars. interactive A Record Year for Auto RecallsDEC. 30, 2014þThat is likely to change, with thousands more claims under review. Of the 93 people who have received offers, 49 have formally accepted. The remaining 44 are still in the 90-day window to consider whether to accept.þþKenneth R. Feinberg, the independent administrator of G.M.'s compensation program. Credit Drew Angerer for The New York TimesþBut the response so far stands in contrast to the early reaction of product liability lawyers, who predicted that many of the offers would be inadequate and vowed to seek justice in the courts. Now, most signs point to an overwhelming majority of people, particularly those with costly death claims, opting for the sure, swift payment.þþ“The program is achieving our goal of providing just and timely compensation to the families who lost loved ones and those who suffered serious physical injury,” said James R. Cain, a G.M. spokesman.þþStill, some claimants have expressed dissatisfaction, particularly those with injuries deemed less serious. Robert Hilliard, a Texas lawyer who has filed hundreds of claims, said none of his clients with death claims had rejected an offer. “If you’re dead, the fund’s fair,” he said.þþBut he added that he had about five clients who suffered injuries that the program doesn’t count as severe enough and who will probably turn down the money. “If you’re injured with a bulging disk where you can’t work, the fund is completely unfair and inadequate,” he said.þþThe program stopped accepting claims this weekend, with the passing of the Jan. 31 deadline. As of Monday morning, it had 4,180 claims in hand, Ms. Biros said — 455 of them for deaths and 278 of them for a category of injuries so disabling that they require lifelong care plans.þþSo far Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros have determined that 128 are eligible for payment, including 51 for deaths and eight for the most severe injuries. They have denied 482 claims.þþThat leaves more than 3,000 claims still under review, many of which are awaiting additional documentation and evidence.þþ“G.M. has not given us a deadline,” Ms. Biros said. “The expectation is we will be working through at least the late spring.”þþAbout 2.6 million cars have been recalled because of the defective ignition switch, which can inadvertently shut off power in a moving car, deactivating airbags and other safety systems. G.M. began the recalls last February but admitted that engineers and others had known about the problem for more than a decade. The years of inaction have led to numerous investigations, including a criminal inquiry by the Justice Department that remains open.þþSenator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who has been among the most vocal critics of G.M.’s handling of the switch issue, said in an interview on Monday that he thought the jury was still out on the Feinberg program.þþHe called the 90-day deadline for accepting offers unfair, saying it forced people to decide about whether to forgo a lawsuit while the criminal investigation was still open.þþ“Recipients of these awards have no idea what the Justice Department will find, so making judgments about accepting offers without the facts, that’s very deeply disturbing,” Senator Blumenthal said.þþUnder Mr. Feinberg’s formula, eligible death claims receive payments of at least $1 million; most run at least twice that. A category of injuries that includes paraplegia and traumatic brain injury can bring awards in the double-digit millions. But offered payments for lesser injuries can be as little as a few thousand dollars.þþMegan Rodgers, 25, of Houston, lost control of her Saturn Ion last spring and crashed into a curb. The airbags did not deploy. She had head injuries and a broken ankle that had to be surgically repaired and that was not restored to full function, she said. Mr. Feinberg accepted her claim, offering her $70,000, she said.þþ(Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros do not discuss individual cases to protect the privacy of claimants.)þþMs. Rodgers said $70,000 was not enough to cover her outstanding medical bills, let alone those she would continue to accrue. She said she had to quit her full-time job as a bailer operator for a waste management company. “It was too much labor on my leg,” Ms. Rodgers said. “I can’t even run anymore. I had to walk around a lift and climb on top of stuff.” She said she earns considerably less now, working part time as a home health aide.þþStill, she said the decision to walk away from the money had been agonizing. “It was a tough decision because I’m out of a car,” she said. She said she could not afford a new one and that it was painful to walk to the bus on her injured leg.þþ“Yes, I will file a lawsuit,” she said. “I will do whatever I have to do to get more money.”þþWhen Mr. Feinberg deems a claim eligible, it can ease some of the guilt and responsibility drivers felt and help clear their names.þþOn Sept. 3, 2010, Lakisha Ward-Green lost control of her Chevrolet Cobalt and crashed into a pole in Penn Hills, Pa., killing a teenage boy who was a passenger in the car. The boy was the brother of a friend of hers. She said she had agreed to pick him up from school as a favor to her friend, but was rushing to pick up her mother as well.þþThe police report noted that she was speeding — 75 miles an hour on a residential street. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving and spent 121 days in prison.þþBut a download of the so-called black box data showed that the ignition switch had slipped out of the run position to “accessory,” critical evidence that the switch played a role in the accident. Mr. Feinberg has made her an offer, but Mr. Hilliard, her lawyer, said he was appealing the amount.þþAt the same time, he is seeking to get her conviction overturned and has asked the automaker to provide a letter of support. G.M. has requested more information.þþMs. Ward-Green, now 25, said she recently lost her job because her employer found out about her conviction. She says she still feels tremendous remorse but is eager to get on with her life and clearing her name is a critical step.þþ“For me to have a criminal record behind my name and no one willing to give me a second chance, it really hurts,” she said.þþ
Source: NY Times
