Feinberg Reveals GM Ignition Switch Compensation Formula

1. Claims for Death
2. Category One Physical Injury Claims:  Physical injury claims involving quadriplegic injury, paraplegic injury, double amputation, permanent brain damage requiring continuous home medical assistance, and pervasive burns encompassing a substantial part of the body(“Category One Claims”).
3. Category Two Physical injury claims other than Category One Claims: Physical injury claims that required hospitalization within 48 hours after the accident, or in extraordinary circumstances as determined on a case by case basis by the Administrator, outpatient medical treatment within 48 hours after the accident (“Category Two Claims”).

4.2  What is the Methodology for the Calculation of a Death Claim?

Eligible Claimants submitting a Death Claim may elect to have their compensation calculated based onone of the following methods:

Track A: “Presumptive Compensation” — The Track A claim is reviewed using national economic loss data compiled by multiple sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Internal Revenue Service including data on average life expectancy, growth rates in personal earnings, individual consumption rates as well as tax rates, and the Claimant’s historical earnings information. Claimants choosing the Presumptive Compensation path may generally expect to receive payment within 90 days after submission of the required materials set forth in the Claim Form.

Track B: “Complete Economic Analysis” — Claimants opting for a Complete Economic Analysis will be required to present a complete, comprehensive, and detailed economic loss analysis of the decedent’s past, present, and future income, which will entail the submission of considerably more documentation. Payment subsequent to a Complete Economic Analysis will generally be made within 180 days after submission of the required materials set forth in the Claim Form.

4.3  What is the Methodology for the Calculation of a Category One Physical Injury Claim?

Eligible Claimants submitting a Category One Physical Injury Claim will have their compensation calculated in the same way as Individual Death Claims under Track A or Track B, as defined in Question 4.2 above, as voluntarily selected by the Eligible Claimant.

Claims submitted for a Category One Physical Injury will, in some cases, also require the calculation of a long-term life care plan along with the calculation of non-economic loss. If a Category One Claimant chooses the Track A methodology, the value of such a long term life-care plan will be presumed to be the present value of the national average of such long term life-care plans, which includes consideration of costs associated with home assistance, therapy and transportation, medical care, medications, equipment and supplies, home modifications, etc. 

4.4  What is the Methodology for the Calculation of a Category Two Physical Injury Claim?

A. Eligible Claimants who were physically injured and hospitalized within 48 hours of the accidentfor one or more nights as a result of the accident will receive compensation based upon the followingcategories:

• Hospitalization of no less than 32 overnights: $500,000
• Hospitalization of 24 to 31 overnights: $385,000
• Hospitalization of 16 to 23 overnights:  $260,000
• Hospitalization of 8 to 15 overnights:  $170,000
• Hospitalization of 2 to 7 overnights:  $70,000
• Hospitalization of 1 overnight:  $20,000

B. Eligible claimants who were physically injured, but were not hospitalized overnight because ofextraordinary circumstances, will receive up to a maximum of $20,000 for medical treatment resultingfrom the accident, if such treatment commenced within 48 hours of the accident. (This compensationencompasses both economic loss and non-economic loss.) Any subsequent overnight hospitalization ofsuch eligible claimant for physical injuries as a result of the accident will be compensated according tothe number of nights of hospitalization as outlined above for a Category Two Hospitalization claim.However, the total compensation will not exceed the maximum allocated amount of each hospitalizationcategory shown above.

5.1  Which Vehicles are Defined as Eligible Vehicles Under the Facility?

5.2  What if My Vehicle is Not on This List [of Eligible Vehicles]?

If your vehicle is not one of the models and model year vehicles listed in Question No. 5.1, you are not eligible to file a claim with this Facility pursuant to this Protocol.

Read More:

• Safety Took Backseat at General Motors
• GM’s List of “Dirty” Words
• GM Ignition Recall: Attacking Plaintiffs & Hiding Behind Bankruptcy
• At GM, Safety Could Be Mary Barra’s Silver Bullet [Bill Saporito at Time Magazine]
• Time to put the fear of prison into executives before they’ve decided to profits over people [Ian Reifowitz at Kos]
• John Oliver eviscerates GM on ignition switch recall [Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]

© Copyright 2014 Brett A. Emison

Follow @BrettEmison on Twitter.