Deaths From Faulty Switch in G.M. Cars Edge Higher

The death toll from accidents involving General Motors cars with a defective ignition switch has edged up again, reported The New York Times. In a weekly update of claims filed to the victim compensation program run by the compensation expert Kenneth R. Feinberg, the program disclosed that 21 death claims had been deemed eligible for payment. That is two more than Mr. Feinberg found eligible a week ago and significantly more than the 13 deaths the company had estimated for months.

G.M. has given Mr. Feinberg sole discretion to determine the number of eligible claims for deaths and injuries associated with the faulty switch, which can cause power to cut out in a moving car, disabling air bags, power steering and power brakes.

G.M. recalled 2.6 million cars with the switch this year, more than a decade after engineers inside the company first spotted a problem. The latest numbers show a total of 16 eligible injury claims, including four in the most serious category of injury — those resulting in quadriplegia, paraplegia, double amputation, permanent brain damage or pervasive burns.