Attorney says death toll from GM ignition switches now stands at 29

DETROIT – At least 29 people have died and 27 people have been seriously injured in crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches.

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM to compensate victims, updated the totals Monday.

Feinberg says he has received 184 death claims since August. Of those, 29 have been deemed eligible for compensation, up two from last week.

Twenty-seven of the 1,333 injury claimants have also received compensation offers.

GM knew about faulty ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade but didn’t recall them until February. The switches can slip out of the ”on” position, which causes the cars to stall, knocks out power steering and turns off the air bags.

Feinberg will accept claims until Dec. 31.