Detroit, MI — April 22, 2015 — MLive recently reported on the General Motors ignition switch recall, which first began more than a year ago but only recently resulted in a final tally of claims at the end of this January. As the source states, 2.6 million vehicles have been recalled in total due to the fault, and according to recently released data, more than 4,340 claims have been received.

These claims pertain to various negative effects related to the initial ignition fault, including pervasive burns, injuries that required hospitalization and deaths, of which there were 475 claims. Of the total, 537 claims were submitted to the automaker without documentation. So far, 244 claims have been deemed “eligible,” and 1,335 “ineligible.”

This month, the Associated Press reported that GM had made progress in addressing the problem by repairing 70 percent of the affected vehicles that were still being used. It is currently slightly below the average completion rate for a recall after a year and a half, and has fixed more than half of the American vehicles that have been recalled.

Although the company has been fined $35 million for problems in the way it reported the ignition fault, Mark Rosekind of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently praised the corporation for taking the steps that it has.

“All other manufacturers and dealers should embrace the proactive approach that GM is taking,” he said.

As manufacturers improve their initial response to a vehicle fault and give dealers and consumers more information to act off of, maintaining a consistent system for recalls impacts preparedness that owners will be able to exercise. In addition, identifying the problems quickly and keeping everyone updates sets the tone for a faster-acting recall with connected actions occurring soon after.