A fund set up by General Motors Co. to compensate victims of crashes linked to defective ignition switches could offer payments for anyone injured or killed in a crash in which the car's air bags didn't deploy, people familiar with the situation said, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg, who will administer the fund, is expected to outline details of the victims' fund as early as next week.
Families of people killed or injured in one of the 2.6 million recalled cars could opt out of accepting payments from the fund if they want to sue the auto maker.
The company has said it is protected from product-liability claims by its 2009 bankruptcy.
GM has said it doesn't know how much money it could pay out through the fund Mr. Feinberg will oversee.
The company has said it knows of 13 people who died in crashes in which air bags failed to deploy because the car's ignition switch had slipped out of the run position before the collision.
A Wall Street Journal review of federal accident data found that 309 drivers and passengers were killed in accidents in which an air bag didn't deploy in a GM model that is now subject to the ignition-switch recalls.
Another 228 people were injured, according to the analysis.
GM will begin accepting claims Aug. 1, but Mr. Feinberg will handle everything including the financial award.
Mr. Feinberg likely will try to make the payouts quickly in a 60-to-90-day window after the complaints are received, people familiar with the matter said.
As administrator of previous compensation funds, Mr. Feinberg has tended to offer a flat amount to people who suffered relatively mild injuries, and used a formula that accounts for earnings potential over a lifetime to determine payments for deaths or serious injuries.
The fund could make its largest payments to people who survived a crash, but have debilitating injuries.
Haley Van Pelt was driving her 2003 Saturn Ion down a Georgia road in July 2009 when the ignition switch in the car slipped to the accessory position.
The engine shut off, according to a lawsuit filed by her family. She lost control of the car and struck a tree leaving her with a brain injury at age 17.
Georgia attorney Lance Cooper is handling the Van Pelt lawsuit against GM and said the family didn't want to discuss the case. The family had spent more than $1 million in medical bills at the time the complaint was filed this April, according the complaint.
Because Ms. Van Pelt's accident occurred after June 1, 2009, GM's bankruptcy settlement doesn't shield the company from the claim.
GM cited the case in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing and said it intends to vigorously defend such cases.
The Van Pelt family's complaint lists nearly a dozen other cases of accidents in which air bags didn't deploy, involving cars GM later recalled for the ignition-switch defect.
Some of the cases haven't been linked to the ignition-switch problem, Mr. Cooper said.
GM hasn't identified the victims it counts among the deaths that the auto maker has acknowledged.
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra testified to Congress last week that compensation decisions will rest with Mr. Feinberg and that GM had no plans to cap the payouts.
"He will have complete independence, but I think it's important to note that General Motors wants to reach with this compensation program everyone who lost a loved one due to this issue or suffered serious physical injury," Ms. Barra said. "And that's what we've communicated to Mr. Feinberg."
Like the fund set up for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, claims will go through Mr. Feinberg who is likely to conduct his own hearings. He held 900 hearings related to the 9/11 fund and paid out $7 billion to 97% of the families.
Mr. Feinberg authorized payments ranging from $500,000 to $7.1 million to cover death claims.
For injuries, he paid an average of $2 million. Injury payments ranged from $500 for a broken finger to $8.7 million for a survivor who suffered third-degree burns.
The GM program will be voluntary. Those who take money from Mr. Feinberg will have to give up their right to sue GM.
Those who don't will have to fight it out in court with the auto maker. Under the terms of GM's government-funded bankruptcy, the company is shielded from claims for accidents, injuries and deaths that occurred before June 1, 2009.
A family that is likely to sue is that of Brooke Melton. She died at 29 years old in 2010 when the Chevrolet Cobalt she was driving spun out of control and was hit by another vehicle.
Four days before the accident, the car had shut off while Ms. Melton was driving it. They took the car to a dealership for repairs.
She died the day after she got the car back.
Mr. Cooper's investigation on behalf of the Melton family was a turning point in bringing the ignition-switch problem to light, according to GM's own internal report on the case by former federal prosecutor Anton Valukas.
Mr. Cooper said the Melton family intends to pursue its claims in court.
The Melton family settled out of court last year. Mr. Cooper is attempting to get the settlement thrown out, saying that GM committed fraud by withholding information about the defect.
GM's internal investigation cleared Ms. Barra and her executive team but criticized the company for a culture of shirking responsibility.
A total of 15 GM employees have been dismissed and five others disciplined.
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