The deadline for victims of the GM ignition switch recall to seek compensation has been extended one month. The original deadline to submit claims to a resolution facility overseen by attorney Kenneth Feinberg was set for Dec. 31, but has been extended to Jan. 31.

The deadline was extended to ensure that anyone eligible to file a claim had been contacted and had the time necessary to compile the information needed to file.

Feinberg, the attorney responsible for compensating victims of crashes caused by faulty GM ignition switches, said the deadline was moved out of an “abundance of caution”.

The extension comes as consumer advocates groups urged GM and Feinberg to extend the deadline. 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 on Aug. 1. Since then, Feinberg and his team have approved 33 claims for death benefits as well as 39 injury claims. Through Nov. 14, the fund had received 2,105 claims for benefits, including 217 for deaths. The fund has denied 31 death claims, 77 were determined to be deficient – meaning they were asked to submit additional information – and 27 are still being reviewed.

The notice of the extension has already been sent to almost 4.5 million current and prior owners of the eligible vehicles.

GM Recall

General Motors recalled about 2.6 million vehicles that used a faulty ignition switch that can move from the “run” position to the “accessory” position, which cuts off the power to vehicles power steering and airbags. GM has recalled 2.6 million vehicles, including 2.2 million in the U.S., affected by the ignition switch.

The problem, which the automaker knew about for more than a decade, can cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. GM initially tied the problem to 13 deaths, but has since seen that number rise.

The claims were approved by a fund set up by GM to compensate victims of a defective ignition switch in mid-to-late-2000s model cars that has led to a massive recall and a federal investigation. The recall includes 2003-2007 Saturn Ion vehicles, 2007-2010 models of Saturn Sky, 2005-2011 Chevrolet HHRs, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice vehicles, and 2005-10 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 models.

GM has set aside $600 million for the victims fund, although it says there is no limit on the amount it will pay. GM has estimated that compensating all victims of the defective ignition switch could cost the Detroit automaker anywhere from $400 million-600 million.

The existence of the GM victims’ fund hasn’t prevented some victims from filing GM ignition switch lawsuits against the automaker. Two class action lawsuits have been filed against General Motors each seeking $10 billion.