The consequences of General Motors’ long-delayed recall of defective small cars hit a grim milestone yesterday, when the company’s compensation fund said that it had approved the 100th death claim tied to faulty ignition switches, the New York Times reported today. The toll far exceeds the 13 victims that GM had said last year were the only known fatalities linked to ignitions that could suddenly cut off engine power and disable airbags. Lawyers involved in litigation against GM have accused the company of deliberately understating the magnitude of switch-related deaths in congressional hearings last year. “The success of the cover-up for over a decade leaves most of the victims unaccounted for,” said Robert Hilliard, one of the lead lawyers in a consolidated group of lawsuits against GM.
