GM ignition-switch compensation claims deadline extended to Jan. 31

[November 17, 2014]  (Reuters) - The deadline to file claims under General Motors Co's faulty ignition-switch compensation program has been extended by one month to Jan. 31, 2015, the program's administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, said on Sunday.

Notice of the extension was sent to about four and a half million current and previous owners of eligible vehicles, Feinberg said in a statement. An extension of a further month was being implemented "out of an abundance of caution," he said.

GM said it agreed with the extension of the deadline.

"Our goal with the program has been to reach every eligible person impacted," the company said in a statement.

Last week, a car-safety advocate urged a more active approach to finding cases of injury or death. Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said in a letter to Feinberg that he should expand outreach efforts and scour federal car-safety databases for accidents in recalled vehicles to determine whether the switch was to blame for additional injuries or deaths.

The program, GM Ignition Compensation Claims Resolution Facility, began accepting claims Aug. 1 and had received 1,851 claims for deaths and serious injuries linked to the switch as of Nov. 7.

(Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bangalore and Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Bernadette Baum)

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