GM gets 104 more claims for faulty ignition switch compensation

(Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) has received 104 claims for compensation for ignition switch defects in its cars in the past week, bringing the total to 2,430, according to the official administering the compensation programme.

Through Friday, GM had received 260 claims for death, 172 for catastrophic injuries and 1,998 for less-serious injuries requiring hospitalization.

The number of claims found eligible for compensation remained unchanged from last week.

The company's compensation programme has so far determined that 42 deaths, seven severe injuries and 51 other injuries were eligible for payment, according to the report from lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, hired by GM to administer the programme. (http://bit.ly/13r8BkE)

The report said 306 claims had been deemed ineligible, while 692 were under review. Another 568 lacked sufficient paperwork or evidence and 764 had no documentation at all, it said.

GM has set aside an initial $400 million (256 million pounds) to cover its costs of compensation for claims on behalf of people injured or killed because of the faulty switch in its cars.

(Reporting by Rohit T. K. in Bengaluru)