DETROIT (AP) – As General Motors begins to compensate the victims of crashes tied to faulty ignition switches, this week more than a dozen families were given a choice: accept a settlement, presumably in the millions of dollars, or fight GM in a potentially lengthy court battle.
Among them were the families of two Wisconsin teenagers killed in an Oct. 24, 2006, crash of a Chevrolet Cobalt. They recently dropped their lawsuit against GM in favor of seeking a settlement.
The crash that killed Natasha Weigel, who was 18, and Amy Rademaker, who was 15, was among the first blamed on the faulty switches. Despite evidence from that crash and others that the switches could cause the engine to stall and cut power to safety features such as the air bags, GM and federal regulators failed to make that connection for years.
GM finally recalled 2.6 million cars equipped with the switches early this year.
The girls’ deaths are among 21 that compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg has deemed eligible for payments from GM. On Wednesday, his spokeswoman said he had made cash compensation offers to 15 claimants.