DETROIT >> At least 23 people have died and 16 people have been seriously injured in crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches.

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM to compensate victims, updated the totals in an Internet posting Monday.

Feinberg says he has received 153 death claims since August. Of those, 23 have been deemed eligible for compensation payments, up from 21 last week.

Sixteen of the 714 injury claimants have also received compensation.

GM has acknowledged that it knew about faulty ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade. The switches can slip out of the "on" position, which causes the cars to stall and turns off the air bags.

Claims are being accepted through Dec. 31.