GM compensation expert extends claims deadline

DETROIT - The lawyer hired by General Motors (GM) to compensate victims of crashes caused by faulty ignition switches is giving people another month to file claims.

Kenneth Feinberg announced Sunday night that the deadline has been extended until Jan. 31, 2015.

GM came under fire last week because the family of a Connecticut woman who died in a crash had not been notified by the company, even though GM linked her death to the faulty switches years ago.

Feinberg says in a statement that the extension is being done out of an abundance of caution. He says notices about the compensation fund have been sent to nearly 4.5 million current and prior owners of Chevrolet Cobalts and other affected small cars.

To date, Feinberg's compensation program has determined that 32 people died as a result of the faulty switches; initially General Motors had linked 13 deaths to the problem.