For General Motors, 2014 has been good and bad in equal measure. They've seen record sales numbers and have the strongest product lineup in decades. But they've also been dogged by recalls, hearings, and the ever-increasing toll of people injured or killed by the defective ignition switch in millions of cars.
That toll reached what the The Car Connection rightly called a "grim milestone": the outside fund set up to compensate victims and their families has now approved 100 claims. That's 42 deaths and 58 injuries tied to the defective switch, which can turn off unexpectedly during driving, disabling the car's airbags.
That number is also likely to keep rising, the story says:
The fund has received 2,326 claims to date. Of that number, 306 have been rejected, 568 have been judged deficient, and 907 haven't included verifying information. However, 445 claims are currently under review, 46 of which are for wrongful death.
I'm sure GM will be glad when 2014 is over, bit this is a problem that will likely dog them into next year and beyond.